Praise be to the Lord

Genesis 24:26-27a

When I was younger, my parents used to drill into me the importance of writing thank you letters to people who had given us gifts. Usually, the morning of the day after Boxing Day would be given over to putting pen to paper to write to all our generous friends and relatives. It’s a habit that I’ve tried to maintain in my adult life, but it’s something that I’m not particularly good at. Often, the best that people get out of me is a quick text message or email, which is probably not really good enough.

Thanking God is something that we should all get into the habit of doing too.  Yesterday we considered the importance of acknowledging God’s sovereignty and asking for his blessing at the beginning of every day. We witnessed Abraham’s loyal servant praying to God before commencing an important task. In today’s verses, we see the servant’s actions after he has completed the task. He now bows down and worships God, acknowledging his kindness and faithfulness.

Abraham’s servant prayed before completing the task (in this case finding Isaac, Abraham’s son, a wife), he has confidence that God is with him whilst undertaking the task, and afterwards he thanks God for being with him as he completed the task.

This is an important model for us. It’s just as important to acknowledge God’s kindness and faithfulness at the end of the day as it is to pray at the beginning of the day that he will be with us.

Writing a thank you letter is a way of expressing gratitude to someone who has given us a gift, and showing that we don’t take their kindness for granted. With God, we have far more than a book token to be thankful for. He is the God of creation who has made all things, including us. He provides for all our needs. He loves us unconditionally. He is always with us.  He gave his son to die for us, so that we could have eternal life. The least we can do is to pray to him and to give him thanks for all that he has done.

Why not make a conscious effort to focus on your prayer life today and in the week ahead? Try and acknowledge God’s presence in your life and to thank him for all that he has done for us, and continues to do for us on a daily basis?