A Prayer a Day: Good day, Lord. Thank you for this lovely day. Thank for the blessing of good health, that allows me to walk out onto this porch to spend some time with you. Thank you for ears to hear the birds singing.Thank you for eyes that see, at least, six kinds of birds, without moving from the porch.There are numerous sparrows darting in and out of the Purple Martin house. There is a lone red headed woodpecker pecking the walnut tree trunk. There is a male and female cardinal sitting on the ground. A single hummingbird just flew by, apparently looking for the hummingbird feeded, that has not been filled and hung up yet. Finally, there is one tiny bright yellow Golden Finch sitting on the fence rail. Thank you, Lord, for the birds.There are loads of scriptures, that mention birds.This prayer will be entirely too long if I talk about the 50+ passages in the Bible, that mention birds. So, I will just say a word or two, about what I call the two greatest birds of the Bible; the eagle and the dove. Who can forget the words of Isaiah 40:31, “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” If we wait on you, Holy God, you will renew our strength, so that we can be as strong as an eagle. Having seen a few videos of eagles in flight, and noted how agile and fast they move, I would like to fly like an eagle.The dove we find detailed in scripture is not known for strength or speed; it is known for wisdom and spiritual energy. Lord, we remember Noah sent out a dove to see if the waters of the great flood had receeded from the earth.We remember when Jesus was baptized, that when he came out of the water, a dove, as a symbol of the Holy Spirit’s empowerment descended from heaven and lit on him.So, Lord, help us remember birds are precious you. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny and yet not one falls to the ground without your notice.” Repeatedly, in scripture we are reminded that you, Lord, value the birds of the air, but you value us even more. Holy God, help us to wait upon your strengthening and empowerment, so that in all things, we may bring you honor and glory. Come Holy Spirit and make us strong: amen.