Listen to the Songs of the Happy

James 5:13  

"Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise."

Let us pray. Let us sing. The sun shines. It rains. Let us pray. Let us sing. It is a cold and windy winter day. It is a sunny spring day of daffodils. Let us pray. Let us sing. We work and come home to more work. We vacation and travel. Let us pray. Let us sing.

Each day brings us opportunity. Each day brings obligations. Let us pray. Let us sing. Each day I can sing, or I can complain. Each day I can pray, or I can curse. Every moment of every day is as good as that moment in time is ever going to be for us as we live it. So, pray for the joy within it. Pray for the love we can share. Pray for the trouble we see before us. Pray for the strength to be the love that fills that moment with the spirit.

Sing in praise for all that we are given. Sing to lift up our hearts and accept the grace that is given. Let us sing because the world shares what we need with us. There is a time to sing in lament, but then let us pray. Let us pray for strength, and wisdom, and patience, and forgiveness. Let the songs we sing remind us, and those around us, of the strength, and wisdom, and patience, and forgiveness God has shared with us.

Dear Lord,

May we listen with our whole heart to the songs of the happy. May we share our gratitude in joyful voices. May we pray in silence so that we can hear the words of Christ and know that we are beloved. Amen.

This devotion was written by Jill Pope and read by Leslie Ragland.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.