Everything

Genesis 1:21,25,31 – And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (KJV)

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (KJV)

Being without my Bible one evening, I didn't remember just where I had left off in my readings. Using a friend's Bible, I opened to Genesis to find a new meaning in an often-read scripture.

That evening, the word that God gave me from these passages was "every". He gave every plant and every creature. Until that evening, I thought that this meant every plant and creature that we had. But the new meaning was that God had given every plant and creature that He had. He held back nothing, not even his Son.

How often do we pray for God to give us this or that, when, in fact, He has already given us everything that we need to meet our needs both physically and spiritually? He has already given us an abundance of food, air, and water. Daily, He offers us His love, His forgiveness, His peace, His joy, His salvation — His everything.

Perhaps our prayers should not be, "Lord, please give me this or give me that." Perhaps we should pray the following prayer:

Prayer: God of all creation, thank You for giving us your gifts of everything. You have held back nothing good from us. Help us, Lord, to accept and receive these gifts with humility, thanksgiving, and appreciation. Amen.

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