Friday, May 15, 2015

Today’s Reading  |  Psalm 148

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
     praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels;
     praise him, all his host!

Praise him, sun and moon;
     praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens,
     and you waters above the heavens!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
     for he commanded and they were created.
He established them forever and ever;
     he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.

Praise the Lord from the earth,
     you sea monsters and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and frost,
     stormy wind fulfilling his command!

Mountains and all hills,
     fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle,
     creeping things and flying birds!

Kings of the earth and all peoples,
     princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike,
     old and young together!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
     for his name alone is exalted;
     his glory is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people,
     praise for all his faithful,
     for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord! (NRSV)

Reflection
I read a devotion from a pastor recently in which he stated that he never begins a prayer to God without first giving thanks. When I read that I thought to myself, “I don’t think my first instinct is to begin a prayer with thanks, especially when I am feeling down.” How much different would my outlook be if I began a prayer positively, even when I have small conversations with God all day? I tend to pray throughout the day, but I do not stop and thank God enough. “For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances” it says in Philippians 4:11. I love this verse because it gets right to my problem: so often I am never just content in the moment, giving thanks to God for what I have right then and there.

I remember one summer after work playing volleyball with the Fourth Church Young Adults at Oak Street Beach. It was a gorgeous summer evening with the water bright blue, a nice breeze, the sun setting: I stopped and just took it in. All the worries I had on my mind before that melted away. Life is so much easier when we do that. This psalm praises God from all aspects of creation: the “shining stars” the “lightening and hail,” the beautiful and the rough. Let us always remember to praise God first for what God has created and done in our lives, and maybe then that will lead to a more “content” heart in us all.

Prayer
Lord, thank you for this moment in my life, for all that I have right here and now. I pray that I appreciate all of the simple pleasures you so often bestow upon me, pleasures that I am too often too busy to see. Amen.

Written by Ashley Elskus, Director, Center for Life and Learning

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

Devotion index by date | I’d like to receive daily devotions by email