As the Birds Sing Praises
miracles happen. every day.
It was on a trip to Sweden shortly before Midsummer.
I was staying at a lovely wooden house in the Swedish countryside along with some friends. The evening had set out calmly after an active day hiking out in the woods and mountains. But the initially relaxed, dreamy chat in the living room had turned into a dispute between some of the people there.
By the time I went to bed, I felt quite troubled and sad about the ending of this evening. I was turning and tossing in sleeplessness, my mind not being able to come to rest.
Finally, at around 2:30 in the morning, I decided to go out into the garden to pray. Since I wasn’t going to be able to do anything about the conflict anyways, I figured it would be best to hand my worries to my heavenly Father.
A prayer arising
Even though the sun had set only shortly before midnight, it was already getting light outside. Even so, not a single bird was singing yet, and the silence together with the dim shadows in the garden felt almost intimidating to me.
As I sat down on a pile of wooden trunks, I tried to gather my confused thoughts and bring them before God. I prayed for the resolution of the conflict and that our remaining time together in Sweden wouldn’t be overshadowed by this upsetting evening. I prayed for some other issues that were on my heart as well.
As daytime was breaking, I felt a burden being released from my heart and a sort of confidence arising within me that things would work out finely in the end.
Melodies filling the air
Suddenly, a bird started to sing. In a cautious way, two or three other birds followed along in the morning concert. The whole garden seemed transformed by their joyful song, and a bizarrely logical thought crossed my mind.
These birds are singing praises to God. Birds praise the Lord.
As sleepiness was getting hold of my body, and I was preparing to go to bed finally, these birds were taking over my job. They were continuing to bring prayers before God, not in order to plead anything from him, but simply to give glory to their Creator.
More than survival tactics
Of course, there are many reasons for which birds sing (to mark their territory, to communicate etc.), but in that moment, I felt there was more to their joyous singing than pure survival tactics. I think that anyone who has ever spent some time observing birds and listening to their lively concert in the trees and meadows will agree with me.
Even the birds’ colours remain a riddle to today’s scientists. While it is known that colour performs useful roles for birds, like attracting mates or competing with rivals, the bird’s extravagant plumage goes beyond this. According to Mike Brooke, curator of ornithology at Cambridge University’s Museum of Zoology:
“We lack any overarching theory for why birds are coloured the way they are.”1
Photos from Unsplash
I will sing praises
As the air was filling with the birds’ melody, a verse from a psalm came to my mind, where it says:
My heart is confident, God; I will sing; I will sing praises with the whole of my being.
Wake up, harp and lyre! I will wake up the dawn. I will praise you, Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
For your faithful love is higher than the heavens, and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. God, be exalted above the heavens, and let your glory be over the whole earth.2
I was reassured by the thought that, in a sense, the birds would take over my job after my departure from the garden. I smiled to myself, looking forward to getting at least some rest for the night, and eager to see how things would work out in the morning.
Clearly, it will remain uncertain to the sceptic whether or not it was my prayers that had led to the surprisingly light and joyful atmosphere in our group the next day. I believe for certain that my prayers have played a role in the story. To those who have experienced and seen the handiwork of God in Nature and in their life, God’s footprints will suddenly be all over the place!
We cannot be silent if we have seen God at work, or be anything but thankful for what we have already received in life- if we keep silent, the birds will shout out to the heavens!
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1 quoted in Martin Thompson, “Living Colour”, CAM – Cambridge Alumni Magazine, 49 (Michaelmas 2006), p. 18
2 Psalm 108, 1-6 (Christian Standard Bible)
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