Lord, we often fail to see the miracles that are being performed around us.

At the best, we ’take things for granted’. It’s just the annual wage increase. Naturally I sold my house at a profit. I always get a new car every three years - It’s nothing special.

At the worst we complain about life’s injustices. Why did my car get dented? These water restrictions are killing my plants. Why can’t I earn that much money?

We pray that we might appreciate the miracles that we overlook. The fact that we are employed, rather than redundant. That we actually have a house to sell. That we were not hurt, or killed, in the car accident. That when we want food, we buy it. That when we want water, we just turn on a tap. That when we want light, we just flick a switch.

We give thanks for these overlooked miracles.

And we pray for all those who are not so fortunate. Those without work, or without homes. Those who bearing the loss of loved ones, or sickness. Those who are forced to eat sparingly, or to whom water is dearly bought. May the miracles that we take for granted and overlook come soon to others also. And may they find joy and comfort in the many miracles that occur about them, every day.

Lord, many people in this world do thank you, for the miracle of survival, every morning, when they wake to find that they are still safe, still alive. We pray for these people, and ask that they might soon experience the miracle of safety, and peace that we sometimes take for granted.

Lord, we live in a country that is mostly safe, secure and at peace.

We have no great fear of earthquakes. We are spared tornadoes, and volcanoes. The rumble of tanks is not heard in our streets. And when aircraft split the sky in Australia, it is for entertainment not for killing.

We give thanks, Lord, for our own safety, and pray for those victims of disaster that Australia does experience - floods, bushfires, cyclones. May there be many miracles of survival and may we give thanks for each and every one of them.

Lord, we are more than happy to celebrate those miracles safely locked away in the past. But In today’s modern times, we prefer words such as ’good luck’ to miracle. We might feel that we were ’in the right place at the right time’ or that ’lady luck was smiling on us’. Or perhaps we claim the credit ourselves. We are ’self-made’ men; we are ’high achievers’; we are ’hard workers’; we are the ’clever country’.

But, Lord, it is by your grace that we do achieve the trivial endeavors valued so highly by humankind. Forgive us, when we forget about or undervalue your help. Remind us that miracles are simply the outward sign of Your will, and that they come in all shapes and sizes.

And then there are those ’every-day miracles’ that we seldom notice at all. Lord, you are at work so much, so often, yet we just do not notice.

The opening of a flower. The dawning of a new day. The singing of birds The lap of waves on a beach. A single white cloud drifting across the deep blue sky. The sound of rain drops hitting a hot tin roof, The laughter of children. The love of friends, Peace between enemies A helping hand

The miracle of hearing, and of sight. of humour, and of joy, of beauty and of bliss, The miracle of love, The miracle of new birth,

The miracle of knowing You.

Lord, we thank you for these and all other miracles, and pray that we might all notice just a few more of them, each day.

Today, is a new day. We have just begun a new year. Perhaps a new miracle has also just begun.

Lord, open our hearts and minds to the miracles that are going on about us, and within us, each and every day, that we may know You, and be Your people.

Amen.