Supplication and Thanksgiving

Text: Psalm 86

Reflection and Question: Pleas for help and thanks for such help do entwine in our daily lives. Since we are always in need of help, we also have direct experience, like the Psalmist, of receiving gracious answers to our cries. What holds us up is the steadfast love of God who rejoices in both our supplication when we are in need and our thanksgiving when we relish our bounty. With long experience we come to share the trust in God expressed by the poet here. For what do you need God’s help right now and for what are you grateful?

Prayer: God of all the nations, be gracious to me, it is You to whom I cry all the day long. Teach me Your way, O God, that I may walk in Your truth. I give thanks to You with my whole heart, and I will glorify Your holy name forever. Amen.

This meditation is based on the Daily Lectionary Year 1 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993).