Have you ever asked God what His will is for your life? Did you know that He clearly tells you in His word what His will is for your life, at least part of it?
"Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
God tells us through Paul, that He desires us to be thankful in all circumstances. So, it makes sense to start off this six-week prayer guide with being thankful. After all, it is Thanksgiving week. Here's a prayer to get you started:
Dear Father, thank You for who You are and how You love me. No matter how good things get or how bad things get I know You are always with me. You tell us in Your word that You work all things out for our good, and I have countless reasons to be thankful. Lord thank You for sending Your Son Jesus, to pay for my sins and mistakes. Thank You that because of Your great love for me and the great sacrifice You made, I will not only spend all of eternity with You, but You have given me Your Holy Spirit to guide me, comfort me, teach me and to enable me to live a better life for You!
Father help me to live this week with an attitude of appreciation. Help me to take my negative, ungrateful thoughts captive and instead to focus on Your goodness and all You have provided for me. Holy Spirit, lead me to people this week who could use encouragement and give me the courage to speak life to them. Finally Lord, bring to my mind right now and through out this week anyone who I should tell that I am thankful for them.
Take time this week to think about what you are thankful for. Make a list. Put it on your notes app on your phone or write it on a piece of paper where you'll see it and be reminded of it. It's very easy to let gratitude slip away from us. We must train our brain to think about what God has done and the countless reasons we have to be thankful. Here's some things you might be taking for granted everyday:
- That breath you just breathed
- The house you live in
- The job you like or don't like
- The family and friends around you
- The above things in the prayer that God provides everyday
- The bad times in your life that make you stronger and help you to appreciate the good times
Finally, with most of us spending time with extended family this week and the possibility of running into crazy cousin Eddie sitting next to you, I wanted to share a prayer that I heard online. It's from a book called, The Space Between Us. I recommend you read this prayer out loud at your Thanksgiving family gatherings.
A Liturgy for The Space Between Us a Thanksgiving Prayer written by Sarah Anderson
- For family near and peaceable, Lord, we give thanks.
- For family far and conflicted, Lord, we give thanks.
- For the ones easy to love, Lord, we give thanks.
- For the ones we fight to love, Lord, we give thanks.
- For people who see as we see, Lord, we give thanks.
- For people we don't understand, Lord, we give thanks.
- For people who don't understand us, Lord, we give thanks.
- For easy conversation and expressed affection, Lord, we give thanks.
- For gentle discord within our discourse, Lord, we give thanks.
- For unity, not sameness, Lord, we give thanks.
- For charity in all things, Lord, we give thanks.
- For humankind that bears your image, Lord, we give thanks.
- For humankind that bears your image, Lord, we give thanks.
- For a day when we'll delight in our differences and not just tolerate them,
- For a gathering of every tribe and every tongue, For a table and a feast today, anticipating the one we'll enjoy with you someday, Lord, we give thanks. Amen
From our church family to yours, we hope you have an incredible Thanksgiving! Remember, BE THANKFUL!