Friday November 26, 2021

Today is Friday, November 26 and we explore what the Bible says about gratitude and thanksgiving. Take time to add your “gratitude list” and give God thanks for every blessing.

As I enter this quiet time alone with God, I pause and become still. I breathe slowly and deeply and focus my heart and mind on the presence of God.

Pause and Pray

Loving God, I worship you in the stillness of this day with a thankful heart. Help me hear the message you have for me. Speak to me through the power of your Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

I worship God in a spirit of grateful praise with the words of Psalm 100.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalm 100:1-4

Pause and Pray

Paul wrote the letter to the church at Philippi from prison awaiting trial and enduring arduous circumstances. He wrote to a church that was enduring active opposition and whose members were under the threat of death. Despite these harsh circumstances, the epistle overflows with thanksgiving and joy and expresses confidence in God’s goodness. Paul’s words encourage me to be thankful in all circumstances. Of all the people in the world, Christians have the greatest reason to be happy. The gift of Jesus Christ living in my heart is all I need to be content and experience true joy. That is the source of gratitude – new life in Jesus Christ and victory over sin and death.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7

I have been keeping a “gratitude list” all week. I review the now long list of the numerous items for which I am thankful. I have noticed that gratitude lifts my spirits. Counting blessings is a sure antidote for worry, uncertainty, fear, and even anxiety and depression. God knows gratitude is good for me. The bible encourages me to pray and bring God all my requests, and I am to do so with thanksgiving. I give thanks for the opportunity to pray. I give thanks that God hears my prayers. I thank God for answering past prayers. I thank God for what he has already done and what he is in the process of doing. I am reminded that the “Lord is near” and I am never alone in my circumstances and difficulties. God is always with me and wants to bring me the peace that passes understanding.

Ask: How has a week of keeping a “gratitude list” and counting my blessings given me a new perspective on life? What does it look like to bring my requests to God with thanksgiving?

Pause and Pray

Holy and loving God, I rejoice in your name. Thank you for reminding me how near you are to me in every situation. You remind me to not be anxious or worry, but turn to you in prayer and present my requests. Help me to do so with a thankful heart and guard me in the precious peace of Jesus Christ my Lord. I read Philippians again, listening for the message you have for me today.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

As I reflect on this passage of scripture, I ask what brings me the most joy in life. When I consider my current situation, what makes me anxious? What causes me to worry? How am I uncertain? In my uncertainty, do I recognize the nearness of the Lord? Have I prayed to God regarding the worries of my heart and have I prayed with thanksgiving? Have I prayed with faithful expectation, thanking God because I know he is already at work for good in these circumstances. I look back over the course of my life and recall times when I have received the peace of God, a peace that I cannot understand, a peace that came from somewhere beyond myself. Do I have that peace today, and if not, how can I seek it from the Lord?

Pause and Pray

Come, Lord Jesus, you are the Prince of Peace. Bring into my heart and life the peace that passes understanding. I praise you for the greatest gift of all, your Son, my savior Jesus Christ, my Lord. It is in his great love that I have found victory over sin and death and I will praise and thank you always. Amen.

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 2 Corinthians 15:56-58

As I leave this time of prayer and go throughout my day, I go in a spirit of thanksgiving and joy, sharing the truth and love of Jesus Christ with others. Amen.