Meditation: The Humility to Find a Saving God

06/03/2025
The focus of St. James Presbyterian Church’s weekly 30-minute Prayer Break Gathering is based on one of the scriptures of our PCUSA Daily Lectionary, Psalm 116.1-10, 12. Today will be focusing our thoughts on verse 12.

Meditation: The Humility to Find a Saving God
In reflecting on today’s text, I was struck by Fr. Richard Clifford’s insight: this passage is “an individual thanksgiving for having found a saving God.” That phrase stopped me in my tracks. I found myself sitting with it for hours, letting its depth unfold in me. What does it truly mean—to find a saving God? The thought filled me with wonder and a quiet, overwhelming gratitude.
We often think of our lives in terms of struggle—our hardships, our mistakes, our attempts at goodness. We lean on grace, even as we stumble, and sing the familiar words, “I once was lost but now am found.” That is the humbling power of amazing grace: not just that God can save, but that God seeks us when we are lost. God saves us—from the world, from evil, from sin, and sometimes most powerfully, from ourselves.
But Fr. Clifford names something we don’t often confront. So much of human life is spent trying to rescue ourselves. We strategize, self-correct, set goals, and cling to the illusion of control. We talk about “pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps,” and we often push away those sent to help—sometimes even God.
Some of us know that God can save. We believe that God is near. We have faith that God will find us. But awareness alone is not enough.
The psalmist today models something more: a deep humility—a soul willing to turn back, to surrender pride, and to offer thanksgiving not just for what God has done, but for the grace to recognize it. It takes courage to stop trying to be our own savior. It takes humility to admit we’ve been found. And it takes deep faith to say thank you.
Let us give thanks not only for the saving God who seeks us, but also for the grace that turns us around—so we can find what has been there all along: a God who saves.

As we gather our thoughts and prayers today, perhaps we, like the psalmist, are moved to ask: “What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me?” In responding to that question, we may find that our prayers—especially our prayers for one another—can become acts of grace themselves. In lifting up others, we help open hearts and minds to the presence of the One who saves. Our intercession becomes invitation, our thanksgiving becomes testimony.

So what prayers are on your heart today—prayers you can offer with gratitude, trusting that God hears, responds, and saves?