Prayers of joy

Psalm 103:1New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Of David.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and all that is within me,
    bless his holy name.

Do you have a  favorite childhood memory?  Or perhaps a recurring one that gives you great pleasure to return to over and over again?  A memory maybe of someone who isn't with you any longer, but when they were, helped you find joy?

For me, that memory is of my Grandma Lindstrom.  My mother's mother.  As a child, I have vivid memories of her reciting the opening lines to Psalm 103 over and over again.

I can see her standing over the kitchen sink, joyfully washing her dishes as she listened to my grandfather leading one of his piano lessons in the front room.  She would smile and keep these words on her lips with joy as the (not always perfect) strains of a child's piano playing would ring throughout the house.

In I Thessalonians, Paul reminds us to "pray without ceasing."  Nowhere is that image more ingrained in me than in the repeated joy coming from my Grandma as she recited Psalm 103.  It was her constant prayer.  And through that prayer, she was able not only to find the joy herself from her creator, but to also share that joy with me.

It was impossible not to feel caught up in the glory of God whenever I heard her praying that Psalm.

Of course, I can't hear Psalm 103 any longer without thinking of her.  But I also can't hear Psalm 103 any longer without being swept up into the joy and gratitude of creation that she instilled in me with that prayer.  Her prayer becomes mine whenever I hear it.

And it makes me wonder, what kind of joy, what kind of prayer do I pass down to my child? What unceasing prayer of mine can catch up those around me?

Paul's notion of praying unceasingly can be not just for our own benefit, but it can be a contagious joy that will spread to those we love and beyond.

What unceasing prayer do you want to be remembered for?

Bless your Holy name, Lord, with all of my heart, soul and might.  May prayers of gratitude spring unceasingly from my lips.  Amen.