A Prayer of Big Thanks for Big Grace
Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Ps. 103:1–5 NIV)
Dear Jesus, though I’m growing forgetful, I pray I will never forget you or a single benefit you’ve given me so freely in the gospel. But irrespective of changes in my brain chemistry, you will never, ever forget me. This is my great hope and peace. While my memory is fully functioning, here are a few things for which I am especially grateful as this day begins.
I praise you for forgiving all my sins— past, present, and future— sins of thought, word, and deed. I used to think you forgive only confessed sins, but now I realize I’m probably aware of only 4 percent of my sins. But your blood covers the other 96 percent as well.
I praise you for healing all my diseases— diseases in my body, heart, and mind. Though I wish you would completely heal me before you return, nonetheless, I have this sure hope: one day I will be perfectly whole. Praise the Lord, O my soul, for present, ongoing, and a secured complete healing!
I praise you for redeeming my life from all pits— the pit of eternal separation from God, the pits others throw me into, the pits I naively fall into, and the pits I foolishly dig for myself! Praise the Lord, O my soul, for an all-pit redemption!
I praise you for crowning me with your love and compassion. You have taken away all my guilt and you’ve borne my shame. I now live under grace, not law. Praise the Lord, O my soul, for a coronation of mercy and grace!
I praise you for satisfying my desires with good things. Lord, I praise you for the kiss of my wife, the taste of dark chocolate, and the rainbow painted on a trout and in the sky, to name a few. Praise the Lord, O my soul, for a God who delights in delighting us!
Jesus, may the unsearchable, innumerable, and inexhaustible riches of the gospel renew me today with youth like energy, that I may soar like an eagle and live to the praise of your glorious grace!
Amen.