Mastering the Two Prayers - Part 2

We can always find reasons for gratitude before God.

Matthew Henry, the Bible commentator, was once robbed of his wallet. He wrote a list of the things he was thankful about in his diary: First, he had never been robbed before. Second, they took only his wallet and not his life. Third, even though they took it all, it wasn’t very much. Finally, he was the one who was robbed and not the one who was robbing.

The ancient Israelites whom God led out of Egypt to the Promised Land were made of different stuff. Their 40-year trek through the desert was characterised by persistent ingratitude. They were stuck in their soul-shrinking grumbling against God until they died in the desert.

It is important to examine the operating principles of our lives. Many of us live as consumers caught up with the world’s habits of self-gratification. They are misled by a spirit of entitlement and self-sufficiency, a delusion that they are the authors of their own blessings.

How important it is to discover God as the source of all blessings, and to live our entire lives (our directions, thoughts, attitudes, words and actions) out of gratitude to God.

Let’s ask God for a grateful spirit. We can pray George Herbert’s prayer:

Thou hast given so much to me,Give one thing more, – a grateful heart;Not thankful when it pleases me,As if Thy blessings had spare days,But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise.

Meister Eckhart, the medieval German mystic, asserted: “If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you’, that would suffice.” I would modify that by adding the prayer, “Lord, have mercy!”

The nine lepers prayed only one of these prayers, as their faith turned to God once when they were in trouble. But the grateful Samaritan leper prayed both prayers, for his faith not only turned to God but also returned to God with sincere thanksgiving. He knew both prayers, and learned deep lessons on both trusting God and being grateful to Him.

We must master these two prayers. The more difficult one is the prayer of thanksgiving, because it goes against fallen human nature (as demonstrated by the other nine lepers).

The grateful ex-leper was more than courteous; his thank-you was not just for that exhilarating moment of blessing, but one that welled from deep within his heart. It was a spring of gratitude that would supply worship and thanksgiving every one of the remainder of his days. It would energise him to live for God and find expression in lifelong worship and service.

Reflective questions:Discuss the two prayers mentioned in this chapter. Which of these is easier to pray, and why? Share from your own experience how you have prayed both these prayers.