By Hal Green
Pondering Prayer
If you could start each day by blessing God, as if giving thanks for the mere rising of the sun —something we mostly take for granted — you would likely discover sufficient reasons for blessing God. The joyous Psalm 103 is like a celebration of the rising of the sun. As you pray these words, let them generate these four questions: what does the passage say; what does it say to you; what do you want to say to God; and what does God want to say to you?
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits — who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (verses 1-5).
The amazing truth is, giving thanks with your mouth generates thankfulness in your heart. Expressing gratitude blesses you with the feeling of gratitude. Bless the Lord and you will discover how much you really have to bless the Lord for. If you seem to not be able to bless God for what you have, then bless God for what you do not have, that you do not want!
Rabbi Harold Kushner said, “Can you see the holiness in those things you take for granted — a paved road or a washing machine? If you concentrate on finding what is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.”
And spiritual writer Ellen Vaughn said, “Whatever we are waiting for — peace of mind, contentment, grace, the inner awareness of simple abundance — it will surely come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart.”
You can actually choose to be open and grateful, because you have the God-given freedom to do so. The problem is you just may not want to exercise this freedom. Strangely, feeling sorry for yourself can feel kind of good; whereas you might think giving thanks, while you do not have what you want, while maybe having what you do not want, is not being honest. Not so in spiritual reality. If you make a joyful noise to the Lord, don’t be surprised to find yourself feeling joyful. Your action will actually precede the feeling. Feeling joyful is a gift of speaking and acting joyful.
(Hal Green, Ph.D., is author of Pray This Way to Connect with God. You can contact him at drhalgreen@gmail.com.)
