Morning prayer · 12 September

A heart to thank you

A small bird with its wings already spread wide, tethered by one thin thread to a branch, straining upward toward the open sky as if about to fly free.

My God, give me a heart to thank you. Lift my heart above myself, to you and your eternal throne. Don’t let it linger here among the toil and turmoil of this world, or be weighed down by clouds of worry, anxiety, fear or suspicion. Tie it completely to you and your love. Give me eyes to see your love in everything, and your grace all around me. Make me thank you for your love and grace in everything. Give me wings of love, so I can fly up to you, cling to you, and praise you more and more, until I’m ready to enter the joy of your endless love, and love you forever for making me someone you could love, and someone who could love you. Amen.

I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify Your name forever.

Psalm 86:12 (BSB)

Adapted from E. B. Pusey, via Prayers Ancient and Modern (1897), in plain words. The verse is from the Berean Standard Bible (public domain). Drawing: Mutter.