A Prayer About Nature-Speak
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Psalm 19:1-3
Glorious and gracious Father, as I pray this early morning, lightning is dancing across the skyline of the still dark dawn. Thunder is rumbling, as the welcomed late summer showers will soon segue into a kaleidoscope of glory as you paint our trees, once again, with a panoply of vibrant colors.
All I have to do is slow down just a little bit, give attention, just a little bit, and I can savor nature’s declaration of your incomparable glory and display of your astonishing handiwork. Indeed, the pouring forth of nature-speak is endless, wondrous and sumptuous-a visual, auditory, tactile, aromatic smorgasbord of creation delight. How can anyone with any degree of functional sensate awareness ponder the magnificence of creation and not worship you, the Creator of all things?
It was you that invented the sonic wonder of waves crashing on the shoreline. It is you that created the mesmerizing sparkle in my grandson’s eyes. It was you that made Switzerland-irrepressible in its power to draw forth awe from my soul. It is you that still hand-paints every trout in the world. It is you that put a permanent smile on the face of dolphin. It is you that put the crunch in toffee and the aroma in coffee. It is you that gave the gift of melody to The Beatles and the gift of symphony to Beethoven. It is you that is the envy of every artist that studies sunrises and sunsets, some of your best and most daily work.
Topping everything you have done, it was you, Father, who gave Jesus for us. Not content just to be a magnificent Creator, you choose to be a merciful Redeemer. Oh, how we praise you… oh, how we PRAISE you! So very Amen, we pray, in Jesus’ name.
