Whole Faith

When Jesus asks in our text this week, “Where are the other nine?” (verse 17), he isn’t fishing for gratitude. Instead, he is declaring that gratitude that leads to praise is part of the way of the disciple. To live holistically, we need gratitude to be part of the mechanism. In secular terms, we could say our lives are better when we live thankfully. Worship, then, needs to make space for gratitude.

Our prayers this week can open that door. Our liturgy can provide the forms to help us voice our gratitude. The truth is, even a quick scan of your recent worship orders will reveal gratitude already present. But do we see it as clearly as we need to? Before we pray a prayer of gratitude this week, how about stopping the flow and asking the community to read the words before they pray them? Maybe they could talk with those around them about the words or expand on the words by asking what are we really grateful to God for this day.

Once we are in the mode of thanking God, we begin to see how God works through those around us. That enables us to be grateful to people in our lives who reveal God’s love and forgiveness in concrete ways. Maybe our intercessory prayers can be more than praying for those who are hurting, as important as that is. We could also pray for those who are in caring professions or who take caregiving roles out of love and need to know they are seen. Let’s pray for teachers in our public schools who show the face of God as they instruct and mentor our kids and youth day by day. Who else needs to hear our gratitude? What words could we be given as we worship that can be the impetus to carry gratitude into the world around us?

Cultivating gratitude that leads to praise requires that we pay attention to all who bring God’s presence and love into our lives. This would be a good week for testimony. Who can tell a story of the awareness of God’s presence in their lives? It doesn’t have to be dramatic, just real. Someone who realized that they were loved, someone who experienced reconciliation, someone who felt a presence that gave them peace—these are the stories we need to hear so that we can look at our lives in new ways. Self-examination can begin by listening to one another. Our faith is whole when driven by gratitude as we gather together and offer corporate prayer to God.