How to Please God

In Psalm 65 we hear the speaker say to God, “To you must vows be fulfilled, you who hear prayers.” Apparently the psalmist believes that our relationship with God entails a transaction: God hears our prayers, and we make vows that we must fulfill.

We don’t “owe” God for the gift of life and other blessings we are given. God does not demand a certain percentage of our time or our goods in exchange for favors provided. However, Jesus told us how we can please God, if we wish to show our gratitude: by loving God with all our heart, mind, and soul (which is really another gift to us, to join in the love triangle of the Trinity), and by taking care of our neighbor (with its gift of seeing God's face). People often ask “Where is God?” in times of tragedy, when God is present in our desire and efforts to provide assistance and companionship.

May our prayers—evident both in our wholehearted attentiveness to God and our actions on behalf of our neighbors—rise like incense before the giver of all gifts.