DEVOTION: Heavenly Password by Shirley Corder

“Enter with the password: ‘Thank you!’
Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him.”
Psalm 100:4 MSG


I confidently typed in my user name and password to enter the site of my writers’ group on the Internet. Dumbfounded, I read the message that flashed on my screen. ‘Wrong user name or password.’

I tried once more. This time, a question appeared. ‘Have you forgotten your password? If so, click the button below.’ What a pain. How could I have just forgotten the password? I had a system. A fail-proof system. But it had just failed. Frustrated, I clicked on the button below and set about setting up a new password.

A few days later I stood at the automatic teller in a busy shopping center. I needed to withdraw money, but my mind went blank. Once again, I forgot my password. I knew where to find it at home, but I wasn't at home, and I needed the money now. Too bad. I had to go home, retrieve the password, and drive to the nearest bank.

Often, when I'm writing, my mind goes blank. My fingers hover over the keys as I try to think of the word which sits "on the tip of my tongue" - make that "on the edge of my mind" but refuses to make itself available. I have learned that I can sit in frustration for long minutes, but that word will not come. I have found the password to the missing words though. I now type XX and continue with my sentence. A few words later, I remember what I meant to say and zip back to replace XX with the correct word.

Sometimes, I don’t know how to pray for a specific situation. I sit or kneel quietly, waiting for inspiration. On occasions like this, I need to remember the Lord gave me a password. It is a simple one: “Thank you.” The more I say “Thank you,” the more joyous I become. There’s never any limit to the things I can thank God for. I start with the obvious: my family, my friends, the food on the table, sufficient clothes, a comfortable bed . . . More and more ideas tumble into my mind. The words flow, and in no time, I am able to pray fluently for whatever issues are on my mind. Not only does the phrase, “Thank you,” bring me joy, it opens my way into God’s presence.

Thank God for giving us a heavenly password. All we have to do is remember it, and it's so much easier than our others. You don't need to write it down, follow a formula, or hide it on your computer. "Thank you" - It's that easy.
Lord God, thank you for giving me a heavenly password. Help me to use it regularly, and may I always feel at home in your presence. Amen.



SHIRLEY CORDER lives in South Africa with her husband, a hyperactive budgie called Sparky, and an ever expanding family of tropical fish. She is contributing author to nine books to date and hundreds of her inspirational and life-enrichment articles have been published internationally. Her book, Strength Renewed: Meditations for your Journey through Breast Cancer is due for release in the USA in 2012. You can contact Shirley through her writing website, her Rise and Soar cancer site, or follow her on Twitter.