Christian Reflection and Prayer

"O Lord, I am calling to you. Please
hurry! Listen when I cry to you for help!
Accept my prayer as incense offered
to you, and my upraised hands as an
evening offering." Psalm 141:1-2 NLT

The Second Thanksgiving

"The year was 1623. The Pilgrims had
been in the New World for two and half
years. The first Thanksgiving of 1621
was only a memory by this time because
this summer's drought was jeopardizing
everything. Not even the Indians could
remember anything like it. The settlers
had planted more corn than before, but
without any rainfall, there would be no
harvest. Daily they had prayed that God
would send rain, but he hadn't answered.
As the psalmist did in Psalm 141:1, they
were begging God to hurry.

Finally, the settlers set aside an entire
day for prayer and worship. As they went
for worship, the "heavens were as clear
and the drought as like to continue as
it ever was," yet when they left the meeting,
"the weather was overcast, the clouds
gathered on all sides." For the next 14 days
there were "moderate showers of rain,"
according to Edward Winslow, one of the
Pilgrims.

The Indians watched and were amazed at
how the God of the new settlers had
answered their prayers, and that year,
after the harvest, a second Thanksgiving
was celebrated with the Indians joining in
as well.

"Hurry up, Lord," we often prod, wondering
why the Almighty doesn't seem to be in as
much of a rush as we are. Sometimes we
need to set our watches to his clock.

from The One Year® Book of Psalms with
devotionals by William J. Petersen and
Randy Petersen (Tyndale) entry for
November 22