A Prayer of Praise Because We are all Different

I am very much enjoying written prayers by Scotty Smith found here.  Yesterday my friend, Carrie, shared with me a blog post by her friend, Lee Ann Penick who has a blog called Lapenick's Blog.  Lee Ann's post that I copied earlier led me to a written prayer of praise and not just petitions.  I thought I might share:

Abba Father, you know I use prayer time to ask for stuff way more than simply stopping and praising you.  Even writing that confession doesn't seem sincere because I worry this pause in my normal practice won't last long.  Even still, you have led me to pause in praise because of the wonderful words of your faithful servant, Lee Ann.  Who knew that it would take a three step connection from Lee Ann to Carrie to me to make me pause today?  You knew and I give you praise for that.

What can I praise you for today, Lord?  Returning from vacation, it comes pretty easy.   To begin with, I praise you because you created more than one type of deer.  Is that too small of a thing to praise you for?  I hope not because it is significant to me that you created both large magnificent bucks but also the small Key Deer that live on one island in the Florida Keys.  I am in awe of this because it speaks to your character.  You created different animals not only for your pleasure but for ours....many many kinds of animals.  I praise you because you didn't stop there but created many kinds of each species of animals.  I know you created us and the stars and the animals for YOUR pleasure but I also praise you because you created these marvelous varieties for OUR pleasure as well.

I praise you because your creativity with birds, fish, butterflies and deer is more importantly on display in your creation of man and woman.  Shouldn't I offer you praise because you created all of us individually and differently.  I confess that I don't celebrate that enough.  I thank you for the variety of people in my life....young and old....rich and poor....liberal and conservative....quiet and loud....the differences go on and on.  Help me to be less frustrated by our differences and more joyful that you have given me a wonderful variety of friends.

Lastly and most importantly, I praise you because you gave your son for me.  You brought us a redeemer who you promised "a bruised reed shall he not break."   Your son, who though a king, "humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."  Even though the Son of God, he praised you, his father.  He is a Savior King who called himself a lamb.  A redeemer who wept over his people and stopped to ask forgiveness from the cross for the very ones who nailed him to the cross. 

So Lord, I can't help but praise you today.  I pray you keep my heart focused more on praise than on my own selfish needs.