1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:09,680 Speaker 1: Life Audio. 2 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to your daily prayer, where we 3 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:18,439 Speaker 2: help you find the words you need to connect to 4 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:21,280 Speaker 2: your Father in Heaven. No matter what's happening in your 5 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:24,320 Speaker 2: life today, you can trust that God wants to hear 6 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:27,639 Speaker 2: from you. Right after this short word from our sponsors, 7 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:29,760 Speaker 2: we'll pray through today's prayer. 8 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 1: To notice Hidden Wonders. 9 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:54,280 Speaker 2: A Prayer to Notice Hidden Wonders written by Sophia Bricker, 10 00:00:54,640 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 2: read by Leah Gerrard. And why are you anxious about clothing? 11 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:04,120 Speaker 2: Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow? They 12 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 2: neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you even Solomon, 13 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 2: in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. 14 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:15,040 Speaker 2: But if God so clothes the grass of the field, 15 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:19,040 Speaker 2: which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, 16 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,720 Speaker 2: will He not much more clothe you, oh you of 17 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 2: little faith? Matthew six twenty eight through thirty. In Robert 18 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:34,399 Speaker 2: Frost's poem entitled The Tuft of Flowers, he paints a 19 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:38,319 Speaker 2: rural scene of a man setting out to complete farm duties. 20 00:01:39,319 --> 00:01:43,000 Speaker 2: Another man, a co laborer, had mowed the grass earlier 21 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 2: in the day. But when the speaker in the poem 22 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 2: surveys the work, he sees a butterfly drifting nearby and 23 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:54,560 Speaker 2: wonders why it's looking for flowers among freshly cut grass. 24 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 2: That's when he notices it tufts of flowers that were 25 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 2: left untouched by the scythe In the selected poems of 26 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:10,800 Speaker 2: Robert Frost by Fall River Press, we read that Frost wrote, 27 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 2: I left my place to know them by their name, 28 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:19,920 Speaker 2: finding them butterflyweed. When I came the mower in the 29 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 2: dew had loved them thus by leaving them to flourish, 30 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:28,040 Speaker 2: not for us, nor yet to draw one thought of 31 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:32,880 Speaker 2: ours to him, but from sheer mourning gladness. 32 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:33,720 Speaker 1: At the brim. 33 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 2: In this patch is an unexpected beauty milkweed plants that 34 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 2: made the other man pause in his mourning duties to 35 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:47,760 Speaker 2: admire their glory, and which remind the speaker he is 36 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:51,959 Speaker 2: not alone in his work. Other kindred spirits are working 37 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:56,519 Speaker 2: alongside him, even if not at the same time. Many 38 00:02:56,680 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 2: of Frost's poems capture this sense of hidden beauty among 39 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 2: the wild growth of nature. Wildflowers grow unnoticed until seen 40 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:12,800 Speaker 2: by a surprised onlooker. In another Frost poem, rose pegonias 41 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 2: workers are halted in their mowing when they happen upon 42 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:21,280 Speaker 2: orchids growing in a meadow. Both poems capture the sense 43 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,320 Speaker 2: of wonder that comes from observing the fruits of nature, 44 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:30,160 Speaker 2: even when they grow wildly out of sight. Jesus is parable, 45 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:33,880 Speaker 2: and Matthew six likewise draws upon the beauty of wildflowers. 46 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:38,000 Speaker 2: He turns the audience's attention to the lilies of the 47 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 2: field and how they grow without any additional striving. God, 48 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 2: in his kindness and wisdom, has adorned to the grasses 49 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:50,200 Speaker 2: of the field in this way, providing lovely clothing to nature. 50 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:54,080 Speaker 2: His words echo what he said earlier in Matthew six 51 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:57,400 Speaker 2: six through twenty seven about the birds of the air, 52 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:00,280 Speaker 2: who do not store up food for the future, yet 53 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 2: are still fed. Our Lord used these examples to remind 54 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:11,200 Speaker 2: us of practical spiritual truths. God clothes the fields and 55 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:15,400 Speaker 2: feeds the birds, So why do we worry incessantly about 56 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 2: these parts of life? Our anxiety could be eased if 57 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:24,720 Speaker 2: we paused to notice the wonders all around us, especially 58 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:28,920 Speaker 2: those hidden beauties of daily life that teach us valuable 59 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:34,039 Speaker 2: lessons about the Lord's caring provision. The apostle Paul even 60 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:37,880 Speaker 2: included the examples of normal events like rain, showers or 61 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:42,479 Speaker 2: harvests when mentioning the Creator's care in Acts fourteen seventeen. 62 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 2: Around us is a world of reminders of God's love, 63 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:51,479 Speaker 2: yet too often we turn a blind eye to their testimony. 64 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 2: What might happen if we started to pause and consider 65 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:02,560 Speaker 2: the hidden wonders around us? Perhaps we will heed Jesus's 66 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:08,760 Speaker 2: advice and stop worrying about everyday necessities. Then we could 67 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:12,720 Speaker 2: walk more steadily by setting the Kingdom of God as 68 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:17,040 Speaker 2: the first priority in our lives, all because of the 69 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:20,760 Speaker 2: testimony of a growing flower, a chirping bird. 70 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:22,080 Speaker 1: Or a rainy day. 71 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:28,279 Speaker 2: Let's pray, Lord of the flowers and birds, help me 72 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:31,200 Speaker 2: to obey your words and learn from the lessons of nature, 73 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:34,799 Speaker 2: so that I may be a better citizen of your kingdom. 74 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:38,039 Speaker 2: You've placed so many reminders of your love and care 75 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:41,400 Speaker 2: into the world, reminding us not to worry but to 76 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:45,680 Speaker 2: trust in your provision. Far too often, though, I fail 77 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:49,320 Speaker 2: to heed these examples, and I often overlook the presence 78 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:51,599 Speaker 2: of the hidden wonders around me that point to You. 79 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:57,080 Speaker 2: Grant me eyes that see and take notice, and ears 80 00:05:57,080 --> 00:06:00,760 Speaker 2: that listen to the songs and sounds of create around me. 81 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:05,240 Speaker 2: May I listen to the sermons of their beautiful presence 82 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:08,679 Speaker 2: in my daily life, so that I am awakened again 83 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:13,600 Speaker 2: by the wonder of knowing You, the Creator and Savior 84 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:30,440 Speaker 2: of all. In your name, Jesus, I pray Amen. Your 85 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:34,239 Speaker 2: daily prayer is a production of Life Audio and Salem Media. 86 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:37,159 Speaker 2: If you liked what you heard today, be sure to 87 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:41,080 Speaker 2: follow our sister show your nightly prayer. You can find 88 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:44,640 Speaker 2: your nightly prayer at lifeaudio dot com or in your 89 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:49,279 Speaker 2: favorite podcast app. By following your daily prayer and your 90 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:53,040 Speaker 2: nightly prayer, you can be sure that your day begins 91 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:57,599 Speaker 2: and ends centered on the Word of God and prayer.