November 3

Verse of the Day for November 3

[To the chief Musician upon Muthlabben, A Psalm of David.] I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.

Psalm 9:1 KJV

The Key of Gratitude · Day 3 of 30

Reflection · 4 min read

Gratitude When the Way Is Quiet

Count the times David says I will in these two verses. Praise, shew forth, be glad, sing. Four decisions, one after another, before he has said a single thing about what God is doing right now.

[To the chief Musician upon Muthlabben, A Psalm of David.] I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.

Psalm 9:1

These are not reports of a feeling. They are choices, set down like stepping stones across a stream.

And the first one has a size attached. With my whole heart. Not the part of the heart that happens to be free this week, not the part left over after worry has taken its share. All of it.

When life goes quiet, when prayers seem to settle into the ceiling and nothing much is happening, it is easy to think there is nothing to be thankful about. But David says he will tell of all thy marvellous works, and most of those are behind him. The past ones still count. A quiet season is a good time to remember them out loud.

Try it tonight while the rice is cooking. Name three things God did for you years ago that you have stopped mentioning. Then say the fourth I will, and sing, even if it is only humming.

Nothing new is happening.The old marvels still count.

Gratitude in a quiet season is mostly memory spoken aloud.

Say I will before you can honestly say I feel.

Carry this today

Which of God's past works have you quietly stopped telling anyone about?

Pray

Father, the way is quiet and I have been reading the silence as absence. Give me back my memory of what you have done. I will praise you with my whole heart, not the leftover part, and I will tell someone today about a kindness of yours I had stopped mentioning. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Read Psalm 9:1–2

1[To the chief Musician upon Muthlabben, A Psalm of David.] I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. 2I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.

Keep praying

See today's verse of the day

Reflection by Collins Asein, from the daily devotionals in the PrayerKey app. Bible text: King James Version.