Remembering God's Provision
Thank you, God, for authors and their books.
“Every believer has received grace gifts, so use them to serve one another as faithful stewards of the many-colored tapestry of God’s grace. For example, if you have a speaking gift, speak as though God were speaking his words through you. If you have the gift of serving, do it passionately with the strength God gives you so that in everything God alone will be glorified through Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 4:10-11 (TPT)
Admittedly, it was very hard to find a verse to support my gratitude for authors and books. I suppose this may be too specific of an item for my Thanksgiving list. But ladies, authors and books have played a significant part in my journey. I have more examples than I could list of times I picked up a book and God used the words of that author to instruct me about the circumstances I was in.
Do you have a favorite book or author?
Can you name a book that has transformed your life?
Where would we be today without these specific words and lessons?
First, spend some time thanking God for His guidance in your life through books and authors you don’t even know. Then, take a moment to intercede on behalf of an author whose words have impacted your life. Pray for him/her however God leads you to pray. As part of the Body of Christ, we get to connect ourselves with people we don’t even know. I trust God will lead us to pray exactly as needed for this day in the life of authors.
In case you don’t have a meaningful relationship with books or authors (and that is completely OK), I’m going to close with an excerpt from the book I’m currently holding. “The Gift of Being Yourself,” by David Benner, is transforming my mind right now. His works connect psychology and theology, and the Body of Christ is in desperate need of these kinds of books today. I hope you’ll enjoy with gratitude! Join me in praying blessing over David Benner’s life (and any other author, too) if you choose.
“There is no deep knowing of God without a deep knowing of self, and no deep knowing of self without a deep knowing of God… Though there has never been any serious theological quarrel with this ancient Christian understanding, it has been largely forgotten by the contemporary Church. We have focused on knowing God and tended to ignore knowing ourselves. The consequences have often been grievous – marriages betrayed, families destroyed, ministries shipwrecked and endless numbers of people damaged. Leaving the self out of Christian spirituality results in a spirituality that is not well grounded in experience. It is, therefore, not well grounded in reality. Focusing on God while failing to know ourselves deeply may produce an external form of piety, but it will always leave a gap between appearance and reality. This is dangerous to the soul of anyone – and in spiritual leaders it can also be disastrous for those they lead.” (David G. Benner, “The Gift of Being Yourself,” page 22)
Our Father, we have chosen to spend some time remembering You, Your care, Your instruction, and Your invitations. Where would we be without You? When we take time to pause and remember who You are to us, what You’ve done for us, and how You’re always inviting us into more, we can’t help but give thanks. Keep on caring, teaching, and inviting, because we don’t want to miss out on abundant life with You. Since You are always giving, we promise to remember. Amen.
