Lord, thank you for this day.
Paul implores the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord always and not to worry but to pray with thanksgiving in everything. This is not a seasonal Thanksgiving, or an emotional response to some happy occasion. This is a commitment to gratitude, a spiritual state of finding joy and thanksgiving no matter what happens.
How often do you thank God?
The "Intentional Spiritual Practice of Gratitude" that accompanies this message is to THANK GOD AT LEAST ONCE A DAY, EVERY DAY FOR A WEEK. Maybe you already do that? Great--add a little more to it this week. Feel free just to pour out your heart to God each day.
If you want a little help, below are two written prayers of thanksgiving that you can read prayerfully each day. And there's a link to a video prayer of thanksgiving--you could just view this video meditatively each day. Do whatever works for you, and do it for one whole week.
PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING:
All things come from you, O God, and with gratitude we return to you what is yours.
You created all that is, and with love formed us in your image.
When our love failed, your love remained steadfast.
You gave your only Son Jesus Christ to be our Savior.
All that we are, and all that we have, is a trust from you.
And so, in gratitude for all your gifts, we offer you ourselves, and all that we have, in union with Christ's offering for us.
By your Holy Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world; through Jesus Christ our Savior.Amen.
Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you’ve done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love. We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side. We thank you for our successes, which satisfy and delight us — but also for the disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone. Above all, we thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ — for the truth of his Word and the example of his life. We thank you for his dying, through which he overcame death — and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your Kingdom. Father, may we — at all times and in all places — give thanks to you in all things.
Amen.
A VIDEO PRAYER:
https://www.umc.org/en/content/let-us-give-thanks-a-photo-prayer
