Thankful Me

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

WE TEND TO GET REALLY thankful around Thanksgiving, but what about now? And the rest of the year? How often do we stop and express nothing but our thankfulness to God? Probably not often enough. (That’s one of the reasons almost every prayer in this book starts by thanking God; we can’t say thank you enough to him!)

Most of the time when we talk to God, we go to him with our problems and concerns. We ask him for help and guidance. But we may forget to simply be thankful. There are many ways to show we’re grateful to God—in our actions by following his commands, in our words by praising him and telling others about him, and in our thoughts and prayers by expressing what we’re grateful for.

One of the most important times we can be thankful is when things get hard. That may seem strange, but the truth is, when we look for things to be grateful for when we’re going through hard times, it actually makes things better. We grow a thankful heart when we don’t expect things, but instead we appreciate things. And that’s a great way to honor God.

DO

What’s something in your house or yard that you’re thankful for? Maybe it’s a pet or food or new carpet. Go to it and sit. Then tell God why you’re thankful for that thing.

PRAY

Dear God,

There aren’t enough ways to say thank you for everything you’ve done for me. But thank you! I’m grateful for all the many blessings you’ve given me. I’m working on being grateful every day. Amen.

READ

Psalm 107:1; Colossians 3:15-17