No defense,
no argument, no thoughtful colloquy that I could ever produce would ever be the
equivalent of what Jesus has for us to say. He knows the right words; He knows
what must be said to best effect God's ends.
The truth of
that for me becomes apparent each time I sit down (which is less often these
days!) to write one of these meditations. I read the passage and there are so
many different things in each passage of Scripture. I have no idea what to say. What words can I
possibly write that can improve on the Gospel? What can be said that hasn't
been said before? If I allowed these things to remain in my mind, not a word
would ever get written.
However,
when I free myself from myself and I ask Jesus what He wants to be said, when I
spend even just a moment in thoughtful prayer—well, sometimes a flood of words
comes that is impossible to control. It’s all I can do to type them out quickly
enough. I will often finish a meditation and think, "Well, I ought to just
throw that one away." It’s on these matters of seemingly little worth that
I often learn how much they have helped.
I have
shared with you a little of my own experience to make a point. Jesus provides
the words. If we don't know what to say, then say nothing until the Holy Spirit
empowers us at the right moment.
All that
being said, this is the last chance I will have before the Thanksgiving holiday
to share the grace I will be saying when I sit down to dinner on Thursday.
Heavenly
Father,
Thank
You for this Thanksgiving Day. Thank You
for all the many, many blessings You bestow on us each and every day,
especially the little things we overlook from day to day. Lord, we pray that You feed those today that
are less fortunate than we are. Draw up
real close to them and let them know how very precious You are and how precious
they are to YOU. Thank you for each one
around this table Lord, and thank You Lord for the ones who prepared this meal. We present this prayer to You through Jesus
Christ. Amen.
