Speaker 1: Life Audio. Thank you for listening to your Daily Prayer,
Speaker 1: a podcast dedicated to helping you find the words you
Speaker 1: need to connect with your Father in Heaven. No matter
Speaker 1: what is going on in your life today, you can
Speaker 1: trust that God wants to hear from you. Right after
Speaker 1: this short word from our sponsor, you will pray that
Speaker 1: today's prayer to help us savor long summer days together.
Speaker 1: A morning Prayer to help Us Favor long Summer Days
Speaker 1: written by Lynette Kittle, read by Ikebrigger. So the sun
Speaker 1: stood still and the moon stopped till the nation avenged
Speaker 1: itself on its enemies. As it is written in the
Speaker 1: Book of Jeshure, the sun stopped in the middle of
Speaker 1: the sky and delayed going down about a full day
Speaker 1: Joshua ten, verse thirteen. Some people feel like summer days
Speaker 1: go by much too quickly, but for others they seem
Speaker 1: to slowly and endlessly drag on, hour after hour, sunrise
Speaker 1: after sunset. The meaning of long summer days depends too
Speaker 1: on where we're spending them, as they're not all alike.
Speaker 1: For sun summer days are truly endless, some even seemingly
Speaker 1: lacking sunrises and sunsets, where it feels like it may
Speaker 1: have felt like and Joshua's day when the sun didn't set.
Speaker 1: Some summer days are longer than others. For a few years,
Speaker 1: our family lived in the Land of the Midnight Sun, Alaska,
Speaker 1: where summers truly feel much longer than the number of
Speaker 1: days suggests, with the residents and visitors alike enjoying basically
Speaker 1: twenty four to seven sunlight. Funny how during these never
Speaker 1: ending Alaskan summer days, my husband and I slept and
Speaker 1: ate less, yet didn't feel tired and functioned on much
Speaker 1: less slate than usual. The summers seemed delightfully longer than
Speaker 1: they do in the US mainland, in a good energizing way,
Speaker 1: feeling like we were being blessed with more summer months
Speaker 1: than usual. Still, we tried, like many new parents in Alaska,
Speaker 1: to block out the midnight sun during the regular nighttime hours,
Speaker 1: hoping our babies would think it was dark outside and
Speaker 1: time to sleep. It's amazing when we consider how God
Speaker 1: created and set the times up. As Song one of
Speaker 1: four nineteen describes, he made the moon to mark the seasons,
Speaker 1: and the sun knows when to go down. Other summer
Speaker 1: days are shorter. In contrast, while living in Hawaii, which
Speaker 1: is much closer to the equator, we found our days
Speaker 1: to be split evenly between twelve hours of daylight and
Speaker 1: twelve hours of nighttime all year long, causing us to
Speaker 1: miss the longer daylight summer evenings enjoy to cross most
Speaker 1: of America's landscapes. Although sure and steady, we missed the
Speaker 1: Alaskan opportunity to fish all night long under daylight's lingering watch. Nowadays,
Speaker 1: long summer days are a mix of the two extremes,
Speaker 1: with light beginning to peek through around four am and
Speaker 1: hanging around until nine pm or so. Again, as Psalm
Speaker 1: seventy four sixteen describes God's hand and the days and
Speaker 1: seasons in our lives, the day is yours, and yours
Speaker 1: also the night you established the sun and moon. Summer
Speaker 1: offers long days of reflection, rest, and refreshment. Still, whether
Speaker 1: we're living in a time zone with longer or shorter days,
Speaker 1: we can savor long summer days by appreciating God's planning
Speaker 1: of the season, which offers us time to reflect, rest
Speaker 1: and be refreshed. As Ecclesiastes one five informs us, the
Speaker 1: sun rises and the sun sets and hurries back to
Speaker 1: where it rises. God calls us to enjoy summer days.
Speaker 1: During long summer days, it's beneficial for us to remember
Speaker 1: God's faithfulness and goodness in providing the season for us
Speaker 1: to enjoy. As Ecclesiastes nine, verse nine urges, enjoy life
Speaker 1: with your wife, whom you love, all the days of
Speaker 1: this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun,
Speaker 1: all your meaningless days, for this is your lot in life,
Speaker 1: and in your toilsome labor under the sun. He calls
Speaker 1: us to make the most of them by enjoying each
Speaker 1: and every day of our lives. Pray, Dear Father, thank
Speaker 1: you for giving us long summer days to bask in
Speaker 1: the warm summer light and prolonged evening glow. Help us
Speaker 1: to savor and enjoy each day you give us with
Speaker 1: the people we love, just as your word encourages us
Speaker 1: to do, whether we have longer or shorter daylight hours.
Speaker 1: We should guard our lips from grumbling and complaining. Let
Speaker 1: praise come forth from our lips, from our morning rising
Speaker 1: and to our evening lying down on days when it
Speaker 1: seems like the sun is standing still. Strengthen us to
Speaker 1: choose to savor and enjoy our long summer days. In
Speaker 1: every situation and circumstance we find ourselves living in. Let
Speaker 1: your light shine in and through us this summer, thrawing
Speaker 1: those around us to save the light you give us too,
Speaker 1: and Jesus' name. Amen. Your Daily Prayer is a production
Speaker 1: of Life Audio and Sale Media. If you haven't already,
Speaker 1: be sure to follow the show on your favorite podcast
Speaker 1: app so you never missed an episode. For more faith
Speaker 1: filled inspirational podcasts, visit us at lifeaudio dot com.