A dear friend of mine once told me; “If you don’t know what to pray go straight to the Book of Psalms.” I have had no difficulty in coming up with things to pray lately, but I am concerned that these prayers have become too me focused without leaving room for God. Prayers that focus on us, our trials, our need are absolutely fine and necessary. Yet, I know in my hear that I am missing something if all I offer to the Lord in prayer is “HELP!”
So I turn to the Psalms. Today was Psalm 103. It is titled a “Thanksgiving for God’s Goodness of David”
What sets this prayer apart is that it opens with a command to our souls to bless the name of the Lord and then goes into a call to remember all the ways that the Lord has and is already acting on behalf of his children. Usually, I have used such words in prayer as set up or a preface for requesting something that I want or need to see change in my life or the lives of others. I do not intend to sound like a child trying to butter up my parent so that I can get what I want, but compared to this prayer I am left with the question “when was the last time you prayed to request assistance in remembering all that God has already done and is doing in your life and the life of those who love and fear the Lord?”
So today I meditate on these words “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”
Rev. Shawn J. Smith 