Jason Gray - Help Me, Thank You Lyrics
Lyrics
The two best prayers I know
Either one is always apropos
Like my oldest friends
They know just what to say
Some days my cup of blessing fills
Other days I trip and when it spills
I'm not guessing either way
I know just what to pray
Help me, help me
Thank you, thank you
Whether you're riding high or feeling low
These are the two best prayers I know
"Help me" and "thank you"
The more life I live I find
The two prayers intertwine
Like my fingers do
When I bow my head to pray
Blessings can be so confusing
Winning when I think I'm losing
The wounds of yesterday
Might be my saving grace today
Help me, help me
Thank you, thank you
Whether you're riding high or feeling low
These are the two best prayers I know
"Help me" and "thank you"
With eyes wide open at the wonder of it all
Or with broken wings
When I'm spinning in free fall
"Hallelujah!"
"Deliver me!"
They're rising up inside of me
Rolling off my tongue,
Before I thought to bid them come
Help me, help me
Thank you, thank you
Whether you're riding high or feeling low
These are the two best prayers I know
"Help me" and "thank you"
Video
Help Me, Thank You
Meaning & Inspiration
Jason Gray’s "Help Me, Thank You," released on September 1, 2009, as part of his album *Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue*, presents a profound and refreshingly simple perspective on prayer. The song distills the expansive landscape of human spiritual communication into two fundamental expressions, offering them as the cornerstone of a vibrant relationship with the divine. It challenges the notion that prayer must always be elaborate or perfectly articulated, instead highlighting the raw honesty and accessibility of these two core phrases.
The essence of the song lies in its recognition of life's dual nature: moments of abundant blessing and seasons of profound struggle. Gray notes that whether one's "cup of blessing fills" or one "trips and when it spills," these two prayers remain ever-present and appropriate. This perspective aligns deeply with biblical mandates to both rejoice always and to cast our cares upon God. The Apostle Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, encourages us to "give thanks in all circumstances," acknowledging that gratitude is not limited to easy times. Similarly, Hebrews 4:16 invites us to "approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." The song beautifully encapsulates this spiritual equilibrium, affirming that God is present and responsive in both our praise and our desperation.
As the narrative unfolds, a deeper truth emerges: "The more life I live I find / The two prayers intertwine." This insight captures the complex interplay of joy and sorrow, gain and loss, in the believer's journey. It suggests that our expressions of gratitude often emerge from trials overcome, and our pleas for help are tempered by an underlying trust born of past mercies. This intertwining mirrors the promise of Romans 8:28, which assures us that "in all things God works for the good of those who love him," suggesting that even our hardest moments are being woven into a larger tapestry of grace. James 1:2-4 further elucidates this, encouraging us to "consider it pure joy, my fellow believers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." It is through this lens that blessings can indeed become "so confusing," where we might be "winning when I think I'm losing."
Perhaps the most poignant observation within the song is the idea that "The wounds of yesterday / Might be my saving grace today." This statement beautifully articulates the transformative power of God, who can redeem past pain and turn adversity into strength. This resonates with the biblical account of Joseph, who, after years of betrayal and suffering, told his brothers in Genesis 50:20, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good." It also echoes Paul's experience with his "thorn in the flesh" in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, where God declared, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." The wounds that once seemed to break us can, through God’s sovereign hand, become the very means by which we experience profound grace, growth, and even enable us to extend comfort to others in similar distress.
The song’s bridge, describing prayers rising spontaneously "with eyes wide open at the wonder of it all / Or with broken wings / When I'm spinning in free fall," speaks to the organic, irrepressible nature of genuine faith. Whether it's a "Hallelujah!" of awe and worship or a "Deliver me!" cry for rescue, these expressions are depicted as innate responses that well up from within, "before I thought to bid them come." This spontaneity reflects the work of the Holy Spirit, who, as Romans 8:26 explains, "helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans." It underscores that our prayers, simple as they may be, are deeply understood and facilitated by God's own Spirit. "Help Me, Thank You" ultimately serves as an inspiring reminder that authentic prayer is about open, honest communication with our Creator in every season, finding profound spiritual depth in the most direct and unadorned expressions of the human heart.