「爸爸，你能幫我倒杯水嗎？」我的小女兒問道。「當然可以！」我一邊說，一邊倒了一杯滿滿的水給她。她接過水杯，什麼也沒說。接著，我的大女兒也要我倒一杯水給她，我就照樣給她一杯水，而她跟小女兒一樣，什麼都沒說！我頓時感到一陣惱火，脫口就說：「有人會說聲『謝謝』嗎？這真的有這麼難嗎？」

有時候，為人父母的挫敗感，正好為上帝的工作開了一扇門。我發了火立刻就感受到聖靈溫柔地提醒我：是啊，安德，為什麼說聲「謝謝」這麼難呢？我頓時感到無地自容。原來缺乏感恩之心的，不僅是我的孩子，我自己也是如此。

我不知道為什麼說「謝謝」這麼難，但這似乎就是人類的通病。但在詩篇這卷書中，我們看到了一個學習感恩的榜樣。大衛和其他詩人常常在各樣艱難的環境中讚美上帝，而他們常常會用「我要……」，來表達他們對上帝的感謝。

在詩篇9篇1節，大衛刻意選擇感謝上帝：「我要一心稱謝耶和華；我要傳揚祢一切奇妙的作為。」我們往往會把感謝上帝當作是一種感受。但大衛提醒我們，感謝上帝是一種選擇。

我們可以像大衛一樣，選擇培養對上帝說謝謝的習慣，慢慢地就能學會在生活的每一個層面，看見和感激上帝的美善。

“Dad, can you get me some water?” my youngest daughter asked. “Sure,” I said, bringing her a full cup. She took it wordlessly. Then my oldest daughter made the same request. She didn’t respond either after I got her some water. Annoyed, I blurted out, “Is anyone going to say, ‘Thank you’? Why is that so hard?”

Sometimes there’s nothing like parental frustration to open the door for God to work. Immediately I felt the gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit: Yes, Adam, why is it so hard to say, “Thank you”? Busted. Turns out a lack of gratitude isn’t just my kids’ problem; it’s mine too.

I don’t know why saying thank you can be so hard, but it certainly seems to be a part of the human condition. In the psalms, however, we see a model for growing in gratitude. There, David and others often praise God amid myriad trials. And a particular phrase frequently precedes their thanksgiving: “I will . . . .”

In Psalm 9:1, David deliberately chooses thankfulness: “I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.” We might be prone to think of gratitude primarily as a feeling. But David reminds us that it’s also a choice.

Like David, as we choose to cultivate a habit of giving thanks, we can gradually grow to recognize and appreciate God’s goodness in every aspect of life.