An every day thing

"Every day I will bless you,
and praise your name forever and ever."

- Psalm 145:2

The word "bless" has an interesting history. For us who speak English, the word bless originates from an older, Germanic word related to making something holy by sprinkling it with blood. Yet the word that the Psalmist originally (barakh) used had little to do with blood. In fact, the word comes from the Hebrew word for knee, and, in its verb form, barakh means "to kneel."

"Every day I will kneel to you..."*

The other day I realized that, in the midst of a busy morning and afternoon running errands and driving around town, I did not have a chance to sit down and spend some quality time with God. Granted, it's not like I wasn't thinking about God throughout the day, but, from the moment I woke up to the moment I got home at night I hadn't ever stopped what I was doing, I hadn't ever taken a break from my agenda for the day.

At the Temple, the priests of Israel would lead daily prayers in the morning and evening to accompany the daily sacrifices. Even today, before getting out of bed observant Jews say a prayer thanking God for returning their souls to them. I'm not sure what your mornings look like, but my first thought when getting out of bed usually has something to do with making myself a cup of coffee.

But where does my coffee come from? Where do our mornings come from? Honestly, even though I didn't take time out to spend time with God the other day, I can't say that it was a bad day. I got a lot accomplished, and really enjoyed how the day went. Yet the truth is we can't go for very long like that. Habits tend to lead to mindsets, and the habit of starting a day with a mind set on coffee (or whatever it is for you) will most certainly lead to a mind insulated from God.

God, every day I will bless You, every day I will kneel to You. With my first breath may I remember who lovingly gave me breath, and may I give my day lovingly back to You.