It happens. I mentioned in a prior post (“And Then I Drift Off”) that in spite of my best intentions and desires, I can end up getting distracted, loosing focus, drifting from praying to . . . well, to just saying a few words and then off and on to something else.
Throughout the Scriptures, the friends of God are encouraged to talk with him. We are invited into intimate, vital communication with the living God. And although I have heard the invitation, I don’t always live into it well.
Paul writes to the Colossians: “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2). I’d like to live that way–devoted to prayer, keeping alert rather than ending up drifting away. And in this exhortation, Paul provides a hint to growing in faithfulness in prayer–”with an attitude of thanksgiving.”
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul also writes about prayer in general and couples it with thanksgiving: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). In that passage, Paul uses a few different words that refer to prayer. “Prayer” is the generic word for communication with God; “supplication” has to do with appealing to God for the needs of others; “requests” is a word that speaks of asking God for specific things. And then there is “thanksgiving.” That word refers to . . . giving thanks!
When I reflect on these two passages (Colossians 4:2 and Philippians 4:6), I notice the prominence that Paul places on thanksgiving–and I realize that it just may be that thanksgiving is not nearly as significant a part of my prayer life as it could be, as it should be.
Maybe my drifting–my lack of alertness–is tied to my diminished commitment to giving thanks. As I rehearse before God what I want, my list of things to talk with God about is limited by what I can think, recall, envision. But if I began to talk with God–with thanks–about his goodness, his mercies, his blessings, his grace, then my mind and heart will be captured by all that he is and all that he does.
Perhaps attentiveness to the goodness of our God and the riches of grace that come through Jesus and the kindness of the Spirit in transforming our lives would open up my soul to greater thanksgiving . . . and be the fertile ground for a richer and more “alert” life of prayer.
