The Power of Being Thankful: 365 Devotions for Discovering the Strength of Gratitude (47 page)

Prayer can be like breathing—regular, easy, second-nature—and we can pray our way through life as part of the way we live. In fact, just as our physical lives are sustained by breathing, our spiritual lives should be maintained by praying.

We can pray out loud or we can pray silently. We can pray sitting down, standing up, or lying on the floor. We can pray while we are moving or while we are being still. We can pray while we are shopping, waiting for an appointment, participating in a business meeting, doing household chores, driving, or taking a shower. These are good times to offer prayers of thanksgiving. We can pray things like, “Thank You, Lord, for everything You’re doing,” or, “Praise God, I know You’re with me in this situation.” Prayer is simply talking with God and expressing your heart to Him, and that can be done anytime, anywhere.

Father, thank You for the gift of prayer. Regardless of what my day looks like, I am so grateful that I can take a moment to pray in every situation, confident that You hear and answer me.

The attitude you and I can have in the face of our problems is one of peace and trust. Rather than looking at our past failures, our present difficulties, or our future fears, we can look to the Lord, thankful for His wisdom, strength, and power. We can remind ourselves that no matter how many problems may be facing us, the One who is with us is greater than all those opposing us.

If we depend totally on ourselves or on other people, we set ourselves up for failure and disappointment. The best thing we can do in any situation is lean on God. People may fail and disappoint us, but we can thank God that He will never fail us or forsake us.

I am grateful, Father, that You will never fail me or forsake me. Thank You for the relationships in my life, but help me to remember to come to You for help before I go to any person. You are my number one source of help and strength.

We can never have a problem that is too big for the grace of God. If our problem gets bigger, thankfully, God’s grace gets bigger too. If our problems multiply, so that we go from one to two to three or more, the grace of God also multiplies so that we are able to handle them.

No matter what our problems may be, or how many we are facing, we can put our faith in God to solve them. It just takes a grateful heart, confident that our God is big enough to handle whatever we face. What is impossible with man is possible with God.

If there is something that we are supposed to be doing, the Lord will give us the ability to do it. There is no way that He is going to lead us into a situation without empowering us to do what He has called us to do. Whatever you might be facing today, God’s grace (enabling power) is yours, and you can do what is required through Christ Who is your strength.

Father, when I am faced with multiple problems at once, I thank You for Your grace that is sufficient for me. I am grateful that there is no problem, or amount of problems, too difficult for You.

Change does not come through struggle, human effort without God, frustration, self-hatred, self-rejection, guilt, or works of the flesh. Change in our lives comes as a result of having our minds renewed by the Word of God and by trusting God to work in us according to His will. God, Who began a good work in you, will complete it (see Philippians 1:6).

As we agree with God and really believe that what He says is true, it gradually begins to manifest in us. We begin to think differently, then we begin to talk differently, and finally we begin to act differently. This is a process that develops in stages, and we must always remember that while it is taking place, we can be thankful and have an attitude that says, “God is changing me little by little, and I can enjoy myself while He is working.”

Father, thank You for changing me and making me what You want me to be. Thank You for completing the good work You have begun.

Most Christians want to know God’s will for their lives. Let me share with you what at least a portion of God’s will is. I cannot tell you whether or not His will is for you to move to Minneapolis, or where you are to send your children to school, or whether you are supposed to get the lead role in the Easter play at church. But I can give you one absolutely certain way to know and obey God’s will for your life: Be thankful.

Be thankful—all the time, no matter what you are going through. That’s right; just keep a grateful heart in every circumstance. Sometimes thanksgiving comes easily while other times it is difficult, but if you will develop and maintain an attitude of thanksgiving, you’ll be in God’s will. How can I be so certain? Because 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (NKJV).

I thank You today, Father, that even while I wait for the specifics of Your will in my life, I can know Your broader will for my life—to always be thankful. Today I choose to live in Your will with a grateful heart, and I know You will reveal Your purposes for my daily life.