November 2, 2026
Our Heavenly Father has blessed us with rain for most of the early morning hours! The wind is making plenty of noise and is supposed to become even louder before this day is complete. The present temperature of 41 degrees at 5 a.m. will be today’s high. This will be one of those days when the wind speed will be higher than the temperature. This might be a good day to trade your Stetson for a ball cap?
Saturday we looked at the “model prayer” Jesus gave to His disciples as recorded in Matthew 6:9-13. I suggested that we all use this model or something like it, to begin every day before we even get out of bed. Praying is the best way that I know of to start any day!
If you remember Saturday’s title, “Prayer and Praise,” then you know that today we need to visit about the “Praise” portion. Here is my recommended daily routine: Start the day with PRAYER, end the day with PRAISE!
As you prepare to go to sleep at the end of your day, pause and praise your Heavenly Father for all of the blessings of the day. In my experience, even the most difficult day has plenty of blessings to praise God for. Remember, you should always praise God for who He is and for what He has done, even when your life circumstances are difficult. NO, allow me to rephrase that: We should all praise God all of the time, especially when our life circumstances are difficult.
You see my friend, praising God during dark days, has a special way of bringing His light into difficulties. So, especially on difficult days, praise your Heavenly Father for who He is according to Scripture. Remember the second line of the model prayer, “Hallowed by Thy name.” Jesus was teaching us to always remember who our Heavenly Father is, because He never changes who He is! I have always found that when I focus upon who God is, my trials become much smaller in His shadow!
So, praise God for who He is, for what He has done and for what He is doing in your life each day. Sharing all of your “Thanks-Givings” with Him at the end of every day, makes each day special. At the end of every day, thank your Heavenly Father for the people and events that made this day special. Give Him credit for the good and visit with Him about the difficulties; remember that Jesus stated, “Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Quite often those troubles come into our lives so we can have an opportunity to see God at work within our sometimes boring lives.
You see, the Bible seems to make it clear that God most often works within us before He works through us. The trials that test and mold us are often a prepitory gift from God so that He can now work through us. Maybe study the life of Joseph as an example of how God works in so that He can work through???
Tonight, before you fall asleep, praise God for all of His workings in and through your life. Here’s the catch, in order to recall all of God’s workings within your life each day, you will need to start paying attention to what He is doing in your life as your day unfolds before you!
As the old saying goes, “Watch and learn!” Start paying attention to the moments and the events that God either teaches or uses you throughout every day. Mark the people He uses to impact your life. Mark the events that leave His thumbprint upon you day-by-day, and then at the end of each day, praise Him for those “God-sightings.”
You might want to tune in on the words of the great theologian George Straight as he sings his song, “I Saw God Today.” Give it a listen and use it as an example of how to watch for God in your daily life. Yep, Pray and Praise makes every day a special day! I see it somewhat like an Oreo Cookie, Start the day with prayer, end the day with Praise with the day’s events being the creamy filling! As they say, “Try it, you’ll like it.”
Praying To and Praising For with you, Neal
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