5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
Written by Steven Joubert
During this 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time we are invited to pray with Psalm 138 which is a beautiful psalm of thanksgiving and praise. The first line of the psalm tells us everything we need to know, “I thank you, Lord, with all my heart; in the presence of the angels, to you I sing.”
I want to focus on the power of thanksgiving in prayer. I personally try to always begin my prayer time by offering thanks to the Lord. I don’t necessarily think that thanksgiving is any more important than prayers of contrition or supplication, or that it is “more holy” or even any more essential than other matters of prayer. But in my experience, it puts me in the right disposition for prayer. Simply put I think there are 3 values starting prayer with thanksgiving lends itself to: sustenance, freedom, and reverence.
When I spend quality time thanking the Lord, it provides “sustenance” for my prayer. It’s not motivation to pray… if you’re thanking God, you’re already doing that. It’s more like a motivation to keep the conversation going, to sustain it. When you’re thankful for all that He has done and is doing in your life, it’s really hard to not want to continue to talk to Him. It’s like adding a big log to your campfire. It keeps the fire going.
Next, freedom. When I begin my prayer listing out (in gratitude) how intimately involved God is in my normal, everyday affairs, what then is off-limits for the rest of my prayer? It’s like the more we see the Lord’s interactions and interventions in our lives, the more we allow ourselves to be open and honest with God about life. What should we withhold? What aspect of our lives should we not share? We’ve expressed how close He is to us anyway!
Lastly, prayers of thanksgiving are also necessarily expressions of the power of God, instilling within us deep reverence. It’s one thing to thank an individual for a Christmas gift they’ve given you. But what about thanking someone for saving your life? That is a deeper kind of thanksgiving. Then there’s God who is the reason for your existence, that kind of thanksgiving is deeper still. That kind of thanksgiving puts into perspective just who it is exactly that we are talking to when we pray; in a word, reverence.
When we take time to pray this week, let us make a special effort to offer gratitude and praise to the Lord. So then, we too can say earnestly with the Psalmist “I thank you Lord, with all my heart; in the presence of the angels, to you I sing.”
What are all the good things in your life that you can be grateful for? What challenges have there been in your life that are now behind you? Are there any current struggles that you could thank the Lord for?
Steven Joubert is the youth minister at St. Michael Church in Crowley, LA. He is a singer-songwriter and NOVUM RECORDS artist. You can find his music on Spotify, Apple Music, and/or wherever you stream your music. To keep up with Steven, follow him on Instagram.
Pray with today’s psalm.