✙ Psalm 57:9 ✙
There is, I suppose, more than one way to thank God among the peoples and to praise God among the nations. In my setting, the most obvious way is to make known to people who may not be persons of faith that I am a disciple, and that I attribute the good in my life to God.
In some (many?) settings, this might, in fact, be counterproductive. To talk about God in a society in which people calling themselves Christians advocate racism and bigotry might close more ears than it opens. And so gratitude and praise might better be expressed through sharing with others the goodness I have received before I utter a word about my religion. Kindness speaks more loudly than praise, when so many of those who praise the Lord do injury to their neighbor.
The problem is, I am too often guilty of using neither method of fulfilling my duty. Sometimes I am not grateful; at other times I lack courage. I need to pray:
O God, make me more thankful, so that my heart overflows with gratitude and praise. And make me more courageous that I may be the hands of Christ in a world of suffering. And give me a spirit that can discern when I need to speak and when I need to act; in Jesus' Name, who taught me to pray: Our Father..
