Verses that inspire

A verse in I Corinthians stood out when I was reading:

So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit,but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. (I Corinthians 14:15)

Do we always pray "with understanding?"
Do we sing "with understanding?"
I guess sometimes the reason that we think we've not seen answers to our prayers is that we are (without meaning to, sometimes) praying outside of the will of our Father. We are praying without understanding exactly what we're asking for, or what the consequences will be.
The reason that verse stuck with me is that I was thinking of some old, familiar hymns that we may sing without "understanding." Sometimes the words and phrases are not what we hear much today - it can make it hard to know exactly what the hymn-writer was trying to say.

How many times have we sung, "Here I raise my Ebeneezer..." and not really thought about what it meant? (Grin)
I'm guessing that many folks today probably have an immediate mental image of whichever "Christmas Carol" movie they have seen -- they imagine Ebeneezer Scrooge berating poor Tom Cratchit for putting that one piece of coal on the fire to warm his numbed fingers; not to mention that a little warmth would thaw out the ink so he could write his figures!

Hmmmm. That's obviously not what the writer meant.
Let's look in our Bibles.....

When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. 8 They said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him.
10 While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. 11 The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar.12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”13 So the Philistines were subdued and they stopped invading Israel’s territory. Throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines. (I Samuel 7:7-13)

Fearing for their lives, the people begged Samuel to pray for them in their impending battle against the Philistines. God listened to Samuel and caused the Philistines not only to lose the battle, but to retreat. To go home!

The scholars tell us the word "Ebeneezer" means "stone of help." It's a monument, a stone set up to signify the great help that God granted. I guess we can't go around raising up monuments for all the times that God helps us, but our lives and our words can be a testimony!
We can acknowledge His blessings and help in our lives, both when talking to unbelievers and to believers. Don't be embarrassed! Speak right up!

I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly;    I do not seal my lips, Lord,    as you know. I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;    I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help.I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness    from the great assembly. (Psalm 40:9-10)

The next time we sing "Come thou Fount of many blessings..." we can sing with the understanding that we are praising God for His help in our lives!