A THANKSGIVING PRAYER
I have discovered this year a new hymn of thanksgiving that combines thanksgiving and praise. In fact, Mary Kay Beall gives thanks for praise! She gives thanks for many things, but the last verse of her hymn celebrates the gift of praise. I have never seen this done before, or if I have seen it, it has just blown by me. But I think that she is on to something special here. Here is that third verse:
I thank You, Lord, for hand and heart to offer up your praise.
I thank You, Lord, for tongue to speak of all your loving ways.
For health and strength, for work and play, for loved ones far and near,
with grateful heart, I love You, Lord, for all that I hold dear.
This blog is named “The Book Goes On”. I find things that I wish that I had seen before the book went to press. I would have put this verse of this hymn somewhere in the chapter on “Responding to God” in the paragraphs on Praise. It would be somewhere near the sentences on page 91 that say:
Prayer as praise plays a significant role in healthy spiritual growth and
makes an important contribution to the tapestry of life. Praise hymns… tune
the mind and heart to the joyous experience of praising God. …Praise changes
things. God can offer different possibilities where praise is expressed. Hope
can appear on the scene. Sunshine can shine through the clouds. The
tapestry of one’s life can be brightened when praise is woven in. Your spirit
may be better able to hear the ideal possibilities that are God’s will for you
when you respond to God with praise.
So? Why not include in Thanksgiving gratitude and thanksgiving for the gift of the thread of praise to weave into the tapestry of your life?
I am so glad that Mary Kay expressed the value of the gift of praising God so beautifully for us in her hymn “I Thank You, Lord.”.
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