It’s so very easy in our busy, hurried lives to slip into a state of ingratitude, one where we forget our countless blessings and comforts. Almost a place of autopilot where we go through the motions every day and lose sight of the goodness and greatness of our God. One where we miss the beauty, overlook the wonder of God’s creation, or take for granted the gifts of our children and family.
I remember how, as a child my mother would sing a song to me, a timeless song, one written in 1897, I’m sure you know it! “𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦!” Can you hear it echoing in your head? I went on to sing it to my children and perhaps it will continue to resound through the ages.
𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀! In 1 Sam 7:12 we see Samuel doing exactly this, “𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑺𝒂𝒎𝒖𝒆𝒍 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒖𝒑 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝑴𝒊𝒛𝒑𝒂𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝑬𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒛𝒆𝒓, 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈, “𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒔.” Samuel set up an Ebenezer stone, a place of remembrance, a place where God’s children could remember that He had parted the Red Sea, caused the walls of Jericho to crumble, stopped the sun in the sky, caused water to flow from a rock, provided for them night and day as they wandered through the wilderness, and the list goes on.
So many blessings! It was a stone to remind them that God had redeemed them, that they were victorious, that they served a God who is faithful, always responding to their cries for help, and a God who continuously provides. But it was more than a stone that reminded them of their Creators goodness, it was a stone that pointed to the future, bearing witness that they served a God who would be their help forever. An Ebenezer stone.
Samuel was right. Time and time again the Great I Am, stepped in and saved His children, over and over He delivered them, even when they were disobedient and didn’t remember His greatness. Through the years and the books of the Old Testament and through to the New, God helped them.
And now, centuries after Samuel raised that Ebenezer Stone, here we stand and if we take the time to remember, to count our blessings we will realize that God still helps us, that He has delivered us, saved us, set us free, healed us, done miracles for us, and will continue to all the way into eternity. Join me today and let’s remember, “𝑮𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆; 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒅.” (Isaiah 12:4)
Claire's Prayer 