“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.'” (Luke 15:8-9 NIV)

“Now where could I have put that key?” I wondered. I discovered that my house key was not on the hook where I customarily keep it. I didn’t panic, but I whispered, “Lord, I don’t know where my key is, and it really is important that I find it. Please sharpen my eyes or bring a thought to mind to help me find it.”

Over the next couple of days, like the woman who had lost her coin, I swept and searched my house carefully. I walked through my apartment, carefully looking on every flat surface, and searched in drawers and cupboards. I checked pockets of garments that I’d worn recently. I mentally and physically retraced my recent activities and whereabouts. Still no key.

I knew that there was more than one solution to my dilemma. If the key never surfaced, I could get a replacement key made. But most of all, as I continued to ask God for sharp eyes and good remembrance in searching for my key, I knew that I could trust Him to take care of me and my need and reveal a solution.

A couple of days later, I reached into my closet and pulled out a jacket. As I put it on, I felt the slight weight of a hard object in the pocket. My key! Ah, yes, I had checked pockets of other garments, but just not this one. “Thank You, Lord!” I said. And just as the woman who found her lost coin rejoiced as she told her friends of her find, I quickly texted my daughter to tell her that I’d found my lost key.

In a previous devotional, Praying For Sunshine, I commented that when we limit prayer to our wish list, we are treating God as our personal, celestial genie. We can certainly talk freely to Him about our mundane, daily needs, but He knows that we need food and clothing, and we can trust Him to provide everything we need. The Lord’s Prayer should, nonetheless, be our model prayer as we focus on God’s majesty and glory and His work and will on earth.

We can exercise a sort of nonstop prayer in our daily life as we talk to God (seldom out loud!) about everything that is going on in our life. We can tell Him about big things and little things that are on our minds. We can also trust Him to answer as He knows best.

Prayer: Dear Father, thank You for Your constant care and concern for us. Help us to trust You in every facet of our lives as we bring all of our concerns to You every day. Amen.

Copyright © 2021, by Gail Lundquist <gail10833@gmail.com>, first published on the PresbyCan Daily Devotional presbycan.ca .
Beaverton, Oregon, USA

Reprinted from PresbyCan with author’s permission