Praying with a Thankful Heart

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Psalm 100:4-5

When you go to God in prayer, what motivates you?

Do you pray because you want to talk with God? Do you pray because you want something from God? Do you pray because you want to take another's problems to Him?

Or do you pray to thank and praise God for all that He is doing in your life?

Prayer is about all of these motivations and yet so much more. When we go to God in prayer, we are entering His sanctuary, His courts; through His Gates. Prayer allows us the opportunity to perfectly align ourselves in God's will. Our first thoughts in prayer should be about recognizing Who God is and thanking Him for giving each of us the grace to come before Him.

Our praise of God should be the first words from our lips - before any cries for help or need - we should first recognize what God has done before and what He continues to do. By verbally recounting God's goodness and thanking Him for how He has acted in your life, your faith in how He will handle the petitions and needs you bring before Him will be strengthened. Through our recognition of God's unending faithfulness our individual faiths will be strengthened.

We are to take everything on our hearts - the good, the bad, the fearful and the faithful - to God in prayer. He wants to be our solution to all of our problems. By beginning our prayers with a remembrance of what He has done before, we will have the courage to ask and the boldness to know He will fulfill our every need.

Scripture

Psalm 100

Quote of the Day

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is 'thank you', it will be enough.”

Meister Eckhart - German Theologian

Question of the Day

What is your prayer today?



Focusing on the Grace

I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge.

1 Corinthians 1:4-5

Through the acceptance of Jesus as our Savior, we are transformed by the Holy Spirit which now dwells inside of each of us. What a gift to be truly thankful for!

When Paul wrote his first letter to the church at Corinth (1 Corinthians), he began by telling each of the parishioners that he personally thanked God for each of them and their willingness to follow God. The letter goes on for 16 chapters and through most of the letter Paul is giving instruction and correction for misdirection on the part of the church. But the key is that he first focuses on the blessing that this church has been to him and how thankful he is that God has given the parishioners His grace.

How different would your attitude be to those who were not doing things just right, if you first focused on the blessing of grace in the individual? Would your tone soften? Would your correction be direct, but loving? Would you be able to see this person as God sees him or her - as a sinner dearly loved but far from perfect?

Imagine, if everyone began to think of the blessing from God you are before they spoke to you or corrected you? Would you be more receptive to hearing the feedback if you first knew that the words were being given in love?

Think about how you frame your words - wouldn't it be better received if your words of critique or discipline were framed with words of love and appreciation - of thanksgiving?

Each day we have the opportunity to share God's love with those we encounter. We can make great strides in sharing His love by first recognizing every individual as a child of God who merely a sinner - and yet still dearly loved by God.

Scripture

1 Corinthians 16:12-24

Quote of the Day

“Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses.”

Anonymous

Question of the Day

What is the best quality of one of your siblings? And if you an only child - what is the best quality in one of your parents?

Cornucopia of Blessings

Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song

Psalm 95:1-2

In the United States, we have deemed the fourth Thursday of November as our day of communal thanksgiving. This is the day when we take time out of our hectic lives to remember the sacrifices of the first European settlers and how they came together with the Native Americans to find commonality in a meal. We remember their peace that long ago launched a new nation and although this nation is far from perfect we are thankful that we have an origin in peaceful community.

So often we pause before a meal to offer thanks to God for the gift of nourishment, but this time of thanksgiving grace before a meal is symbolic of the thanks we offer to God for each blessing He gives us. When we bow our heads to pray we have the opportunity to remember with a grateful heart all that God has done for us in our lives. Too often we focus on the things we want or we think we need when we go to God in prayer, but in reality we should first be focused on thanking God for the bounty He has already provided.

When we focus on what we already have received, on the blessings which overflow like a cornucopia of delightful blessings, our needs and wants seem less important in the realization that God is overwhelming with His blessings.

Each of us has experienced tremendous blessings in our lives from life, to family, to education, to home and to friendships; the blessings are too numerous to count or relay, but it is important to take time to remember them.

As you approach these days prior to our communal thanksgiving as a nation, remember to take time to thank God for the blessings in your life and to pray for this nation to do likewise.

Scripture

Psalm 95

Quote of the Day

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”

 Francis Keonig

Question of the Day

What is one of the greatest belssings from God?