Look at the Birds

“Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” — Matthew 6:26

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught His followers how to pray. He said that when we pray, we don’t have to use lots of long, fancy words. God is our Father. He already knows what we need, even before we ask.

“This is how you should pray,” Jesus said:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.”

We call this the Lord’s Prayer. Christians all over the world have prayed it for two thousand years.

“Hallowed be Your name” means “May everyone honour Your name as holy.” “Daily bread” means everything we need for today. And “forgive us our debts” means “forgive us for the wrong things we have done, as we forgive people who have done wrong to us.”

Then Jesus talked about worrying.

“Don’t worry about your life,” He said, “about what you will eat or drink, or what you will wear. Look at the birds. They don’t plant seeds or gather in harvests or store food in barns. And yet your Father in heaven feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than birds?

“Can any of you add a single hour to your life by worrying?

“And why do you worry about clothes? Look at how the wild flowers grow in the fields. They don’t work or make clothes. Yet I tell you, not even King Solomon in all his splendour was dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. If God dresses the grass in the fields so beautifully, the grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, won’t He take even more care of you?

“So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

“So don’t worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Next time you’re worried about something, go and look out of the window. Look for a bird. Every single bird you see is fed by God. And you are worth much more to Him than they are.

Read it in your Bible: Matthew 6:5–15, 25–34

Our Father in heaven, thank you that you know what I need, even before I ask. When I am worried, help me to remember the birds and the flowers, and to trust you. Amen.