Lenten Devotions

Tuesday, February 19

Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty, wrapped in light as with a garment. You stretch out the heavens like a tent, you set the beams of your chambers on the waters, you make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind, you make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers.…O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.…I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
From Psalm 104

Most of us know that our prayer time is to include thanksgiving. If we put our minds to it just a little bit, it doesn’t take us long to start listing things for which we can be grateful to our God. Every good thing comes from God, and we know we owe thanks to the One who gives us all. For most of us, praising God comes a little less naturally. Praising God requires us to think only of God and not of what God does or could do for us. It is the recognition that quite apart from our existence, God is God, and God is good. God exists, not to serve us, but for God’s sake, for good’s sake, for love’s sake. We exist to serve and love God.

In praising God we seek God’s face. We try to describe the indescribable, and in doing so, we are overcome with awe and love for the Holy One. We catch a glimpse of God’s abundant and steadfast love, of God’s power and might, of God’s gentle and compassionate vulnerability. It is right to give our thanks and praise.

A Practice:

Close your eyes and begin to describe God, remember all the reasons you have to love God for God’s self. Use as many images and adjectives as you can to paint all the amazing glory and beauty of God. Don’t edit yourself. Try not to be self-conscious. Allow yourself to look at God and be amazed.

You can also use the psalms for help. Open your bible to the middle and find the prayer book of God’s people, the psalms. (Okay, if your bible has the apocrypha, it won’t be in the middle.) Skim the songs, the poems, look for images that you can incorporate into your prayer. Start a list of praises for our God.

For more information or to continue the conversation, write to Katie at katherinekinnison@covenantpcusa.org.

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