Praying Through Psalms of Thanksgiving and Worship

Psalms that focus on thanking and worshiping God for his goodness are like a gospel punch in the gut in all the right ways.

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Initially, I wanted to make this two separate posts. But the more I looked at it, the more I realized our thanksgiving to God is tied to our worship of God. Nearly all of the Psalms that thank God wind up worshipping God. Psalm 95:2 pretty much nails it on the head.

Psalm 95:2 Let us enter his presence with thanksgiving; let us shout triumphantly to him in song.

I don’t know about you, but I struggle with this one. I tend to be the “glass is half empty” guy. (It’s not my fault I’m a realist. Wait…now I’m justifying…) Music has never really been my “thing.” Never once have I said in a small group how a certain song was really ministering to me or pointing me to Jesus. I don’t celebrate things well at all. It’s easy for me to fall into being a curmudgeon. Psalms that focus on thanking and worshiping God for his goodness are like a gospel punch in the gut in all the right ways. They remind me that God HAS been so stinking good to me in ways that I will never deserve. Like a nice fire, they warm my cold, Scrooge-like, demeanor. They even make me want to sing. (Please don’t tell my extrovert friends.)


Praying Psalms of thanksgiving and worship will keep the dragon of discontentment at bay and the fruit of joy alive in your heart.


This is again why being in the habit of regularly praying through Psalms is so beneficial. It brings things to my attention on a regular basis that I need to grow in. Psalms like 136 that rehearses God’s faithful love throughout the narrative of Scripture remind me of all that took place to accomplish my salvation. They also remind me to rehearse God’s faithful love in my life. A good way to pray in response to that Psalm would be to list his blessings and follow up each one with His faithful love endures forever.

Jesus paid my sin debt and saved my soul.

His faithful love endures forever.

Jesus has counted me faithful, putting me into his ministry.

His faithful love endures forever.

Jesus has blessed me with such an amazing wife in Sarah.

His faithful love endures forever.

He has blessed me with four little children, arrows to be shot into the world for his glory.

His faithful love endures forever.

His Holy Spirit continues to conform me into the image of Christ.

His faithful love endures forever.

He has counted me worthy to suffer for his name.

His faithful love endures forever.

You get the idea. Thanksgiving and worship are to be regular heart postures in the Christian’s life. But it’s so easy to let ourselves get overwhelmed with all the negative that is constantly being pushed down our throats. How do we intentionally combat the steady stream of unhealthy information that comes at us? By praying through Psalms of Thanksgiving and Worship. Keeping these Psalms in front of us keeps the dragon of discontentment at bay and the fruit of joy alive in our hearts. The world doesn’t need more curmudgeons. It does need joy. Let’s be conduits of Christ’s joy.

 

 

This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Nick Minerva

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About the Author

Nick Minerva lives in Fresno, California with his wife, Sarah and their four children. He currently serves as the Associate Pastor of Fresno Church where he has been on staff for over 10 years.