Each morning my husband and I start our day with a cup of coffee and a time of devotions.  We are reading through the Bible this year and are now in the Psalms.  After our reading, we always pray.  My husband prays first and I follow.

While the things we pray for vary from day to day, one thing is always constant.  We lift our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren to the Lord asking for His guidance and protection on their lives.

We include expressions of thankfulness.  Most often the things we thank God for are the answers to prayer.

• This granddaughter was accepted to law school
• This grandson has a new job
• This child is over that cold or other ailment

We also thank God for the “big” things like salvation, mercy, his love.

But today as I listened to my husband’s prayer I was reminded how much of God’s blessings we take for granted.  Today my husband said thanks for:

• Being able to just turn a switch and have light – when many have no electricity.
• A stove to cook our food on – when many have to gather sticks to build a fire.
• A refrigerator to keep our food from spoiling – when many have to buy food daily because they have no way to keep it more than a day.
• A comfortable bed to sleep in – when many sleep on a cot or on the floor.
• Clean, hot water to take a bath – when many wash with dirty and/or cold water.
• Privacy in using the bathroom – when many have to hide behind a bush or tree.
• More than one pair of shoes in the closet – when many have no shoes at all.

His prayer reminded me of how blessed we are in the USA and yet how we so often find so much to complain about and ignore the many comforts of life God has granted us.

At the end of his prayer we both thought of that verse that says:

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

While we may think we do not have much when we compare ourselves to our richer neighbors, in comparison to most of the world, we in America are all rich.

Question:  What are you doing with all God has blessed you with?