Prayer III

      Last week I wrote a bit about “Penitential prayer.  Another form of prayer that I want to ponder a bit this Lent is “Thanksgiving.”  Recapping: prayers are categorized as “adoration,” “supplication,” “confession” or “repentance,” “intercession,” and “thanksgiving.”  Or less formally I said: “Wow, you are wonderful, God,” “Could you help me/us with this,” “We made mistakes,” “Can you help so-and-so with something,” and “Thank you for what you have done for us” prayers, respectively.

     Prayers of Thanksgiving are pretty simple to grasp, but are sometimes hard to remember to raise.  With but a bit of conscious practice, it can become a wonderful part of a well-rounded prayer life.

      Years ago Robert Fulghum wrote his delightful essay on how wisdom is found on the playground, including “be aware of wonder.”  That is a great start to thankfulness.  In addition to mot of our parents, Presbyterian minister Fred Rogers taught us to say “Please and Thank you.”  That’s the essential next step.  Marveling at something or appreciating something or someone is fine, but you really have to go the next step and say it!  Remember?  What do you say to Grandma for the cookie?”  “Thank you!”  Of course, when it comes to saying thanks to God, you don’t actually have to say something out loud (God can hear your heart say thanks, too).  But it is still good to say thanks to God in the presence of other people in prayers of thanksgiving, whether holding one or two people’s hands or as part of Sunday worship.  It helps us practice being thankful.

      Some people would say that thankfulness rises from a grateful disposition of the heart.  When your approach to the world is of wonder and appreciation, saying thanks bubbles up from within you almost naturally.  But some people believe that you can develop that inner disposition (even if it is not your natural personality) of thanksgiving by intentionally reminding yourself to be thankful.  If you consciously, conscientiously assign yourself finding moments of grace for which to be grateful, after a while you will become a thankful person.  Even if you have to force yourself at first to murmur a prayer of thanks to God every so often, after a while it will become almost second nature, then natural, and soon you will discover that you are an intrinsically thankful soul.  You can act your way into a spiritual practice.

      In general, Lent has an ancient tradition of self discipline and penitence and reflection, but the remainder of this year’s season, I suggest a bit of discipline in being thankful.  A couple of times a day notice something good and give God thanks for it.  Each day find one person to particularly thank God for placing in your path.  Be thankful for some little gracenote you see, like a pretty song or sunset or delight.  But also give God thanks for some little problem, irritation, annoyance, interruption, because getting outside of your immediate reaction sometimes helps you appreciate something you would otherwise dismiss.  Finding something to be grateful about in a problem takes the most discipline of the forms of prayer.  Which is why this is a Lenten practice; it’s not supposed to be easy.  And each day, lift thanksgiving to God simply for the day itself and God’s grace that gets you through it.  Some people do that as a wrap up at the end of the day; others like to set the stage for appreciating the day by making their first prayer in the morning one of thanksgiving.  See which one feels better to you, and maybe, just maybe, you will start a habit that lasts beyond Lent! Give giving thanks a try.

      Prayer works… particularly if you work at it!
                                                                       

                                                                                                  In Christ,
                                                                                             
                                                                                                   David