Gratitude

Hallelujah!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, *
in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation.

-Psalm 111:1

Anne Lamott’s book, ‘Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers” is a great short read. In her wonderful, fresh-eyed way, Lamott presents the topic of prayer in a very relatable way, releasing readers from the unhelpful complications of being worried that they don’t know how to pray, or from the fear they are somehow doing it wrong.

She says that the three most important prayers are very simple. “Help” prayers are ones we pray when we or someone else needs assistance or healing from God, “Thanks” prayers are for sharing our gratitude to God, and “Wow” prayers are for humbly giving God the credit for creation and all its wonders.

Admitting we need help is usually the first step in turning to God in faith, but our readings on Sunday remind us that gratitude is our superpower. Gratitude is the gateway to having an ongoing relationship with God and a full life of faith.

Psalm 111 is a great example of praise and thanksgiving. The words recognize the awesomeness of God and proclaim thanksgiving for all God’s wondrous works. Reading it together this Sunday will be a good warm up for us to “give thanks to God with our whole hearts in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation.”

This Sunday, when the intercessor asks for our prayers of thanksgiving or petition, either silently or aloud, I invite you to find your voice, and speak out loud about something for which you are grateful. Let’s use our superpower to create a chorus of gratitude and praise among us! ,I will be grateful to see you and to practice our faith alongside you this weekend.

Our readings for this Sunday are HERE. Note that in Ordinary Time, we are using the readings in “Track 2”