Nothing to Say or Bring
Let's listen to the second pre-chorus of Majesty and Mercy today:
Lord I'll never find all the words to say what I want to say,
and I'll never have anything to bring but these songs I sing.
When you've known the warm and loving embrace of God, and understood that He's forgiven you and freed you, you find yourself naturally wanting to reciprocate in some way!
Gratitude, Not Payment
For me, I try to say words to God that express my love - sometimes in prayer, sometimes in song. Somewhere deep down I am hoping that my words of thanks, and my offerings in the form of songs, will show God how grateful I am for what He's done.
The danger in this, though, is that sometimes we can start to feel like we're paying God back. In a sense, we try to earn something we've already been given.
It's a shame when we do this, because when somebody gives you a gift, the worst thing you can do is try to pay for it! How offensive to the one who freely gives something out of kindness and love, to then try and "earn" it, instead of receiving it with gratitude.
If you're trying to pray words or bring offerings to say to God "your grace is so generous, let me pay you back for your time and effort" - you're on the wrong track.
Honouring God With Our Lives
But if you're so grateful for His love and mercy that you gladly express that gratitude in your prayers, and bring Him offerings like songs, or whatever you do in your work, with excellence and integrity to simply honour Him - you're on the right track.
We must honour God for what He has done. Our words and our lives should certainly honour Him, and this means sacrifice, self-control, and zeal for holiness. As Dallas Willard says, "grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning."
Bring your words and your offerings, so that God may be honoured in your life. But never try to earn back the gift He gave. Rest, and receive His love for what it is. And honour Him in response*.
Our words and offerings to God should flow from gratitude, not from any attempt to earn what He has already freely given. Bring your life to God today as an offering of honour, not of payment.