Listen

Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion; and to you shall vows be performed, O you who answer prayer!

You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.

Psalm 65:1-2a,  9-13

Think

Sometimes we need to be reminded to say “thank you.” I used to think it was my mom’s job to prompt me to say “thank you,” as she often cleared her throat or tapped me on the shoulder when I needed to be reminded. The psalmist does the reminding at the outset of the psalm with the declaration, “Praise is due to you.” In other words, “Tell God, ‘thank you!'”

If you need to be reminded of why you need to tell God “thank you,” just look outside at the world around you. Too often we take for granted the beauty that is around us. Maybe it is because we have gotten away from our farming roots, or maybe it is because our focus is inward instead of outward. Whatever the reason, be appreciative of the world around you. Say: “thank you!”

Jeremy Colliver

Pray

God, all praise is due to you for all that you have provided for me. I give you thanks for those things that sustain me. I give you thanks as I witness the bounty that is produced from what has sustained me. Amen.

Go

Rejoice! Give thanks! Remember all that God has done for you!

Go now with a joyful and thankful heart, so that you can do for others what God has done for you.