Gratitude.

Gratitude is a powerful tool for living a happier life. God calls us to be thankful for everything, in everything! In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, it says, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.” As we enter into the days leading up to Thanksgiving we can each reflect on how we are thankful and what we are thankful for.

Below we have put together a ten-day challenge where you can recenter your focus on God and your gratitude for all the ways he has blessed you.

Day 1: God Himself

Today, choose one attribute of God to be thankful for. Whether it is His faithfulness, His power, His love, His mercy, or any other you can think of, we have been so blessed every day by the character of God himself and we can choose to praise him for all He is.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for all that you are. Thank you for all the attributes that make you so much more than just sufficient for me. You are far greater than anything else this world has to offer and today I am choosing to be filled and satisfied by you.

Day 2: Life

On the second day of our challenge we are focusing on life itself. Breathe in —— and now breathe out —— really feel the act of air filling your lungs and then leaving them again. Blinking, open, close, open, your heartbeat, thud-thud, thud-thud. The movements and sounds that you are, in fact, alive. How extraordinary.

Prayer:

Lord, I thank you for the breath in my lungs and the day you have given me. I thank you for the time you have so generously given me to be here on earth. I pray that I will use it wisely and take full advantage of every second you give me.

Day 3: Nature

Ahh nature. Its beauty never ceases to astound me. From the little things, like the intricacies of leaves, to the big, brilliant, and bold sunsets. God truly out artists anyone to ever exist. I want you to think of all the ways nature impacts your life and take a moment to appreciate it, just soak it all in.

Prayer:

Lord, I ask you to open my eyes to the beauty of the earth around me. Help me to look closer at the world around me. Let me see the details you have so carefully created and placed for me to marvel at. Heighten my awareness of the things you have set in place for me to see.

Day 4: The Bible

The Bible is one of the most valuable things God has given us. God’s own voice and story are in a physical form for us to read and study. This is incredible and invaluable to us as Christ’s followers. we should be thankful every day for such a blessing.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for your word. It is such a powerful tool for us as Christians. We are thankful that we can get to know you better by reading about who you are and who you always have been.

Day 5: Family

People were never meant to be alone. From the very beginning, God gave us family. Families can be messy, and hard, and so much work, but, as much as we hate it sometimes, we need them in our lives. They are a gift to us from God and every second we have with them, we should cherish.

Prayer:

Lord, I am convicted that sometimes it is hard to be thankful for the family you have given me. I pray that today I would have eyes to see them as you see them and that I would be grateful for them no matter the past, present, or even future circumstances.

Day 6: Friends

I am so blessed by the community of people I call friends that surround me. Sometimes though, I take them for granted. They are such good listeners, amazingly patient, and always the hype crew I need. Then I turn to myself, what have I ever done to deserve them? Take the time today to do something for them and thank them for all their amazingness.

Prayer:

Lord, you have blessed me so richly. A good friend is hard to find and here I am with the best of the best. Help me to find little ways to show them how much I love them. Thank you for placing them here in my life.

Day 7: Childlike Wonder and Faith

There are days when everything inspires awe in me. I walk around with the eyes of a child, one who has yet to see the world and is experiencing it all anew. These days are precious to me and not a singular experience, we’ve all felt it at some point in our lives. Days when the coffee tastes like magic and the sky is the colors of heaven, when laughter comes easy and smiles stay longer than normal. Oh how thankful I am for days such as these.

Prayer:

Lord, I pray that you would give me eyes to see the world around me with awe. Let me soak it all in and be continually amazed by who you are. Fill my senses and guide me to find you in everything I experience throughout my day. Give me childlike wonder and faith to sustain my today, my tomorrow, and the rest of my life here on earth until I reach heaven where I will rest in my childlike wonder and faith for all of eternity.

Day 8: Provision

The Lord is “Jehovah-Jireh” the God who provides. He has never failed yet, and He never will. He will always be enough and satisfactory, no matter how empty we are. Often we take our daily bread for granted but today, focus on being grateful for even the most basic of human needs that God has met for you today.

Prayer:

Lord, let me rest in your provision for my life. My anxiety about every little thing comes from my lack of trust in you as my Jehovah-Jireh. Help me to let go of my desire for control of my own life and rest knowing that you are enough and that you will sustain me always.

Day 9: Creativity

The Lord is the God of creation and he has instilled in us his attribute of creativity. We all have this desire to create and to create something deemed “good” or “beautiful.” Most often my creativity comes in the form of art. I once said that “creating art is not one thing, I don’t even believe it is any ‘thing,’ but is instead an activity, a process, an action.” Just as Elbert Hubbard once said, “(Art is) not a thing — it is a way,” and we get this “way” from our own creator, God.

Prayer:

Lord, I thank you for instilling your creativity in me. I thank you for all the different ways that creativity can be expressed. I pray that today I would glorify you with my creativity and that you would inspire me with your glory and majesty. Fill what I create with your spirit. Let the things that come out of me be of you.

Day 10: Freedom

From the very beginning of the human race, God wanted something for us, He wanted us to be free. We were given free will and when we abused it, God sent us His son Jesus to redeem us so that we could be free from the chains of sin. In this freedom, Satan has no hold on us. How incredible. Regardless of our physical state, our souls are free and our response to this incredible gift from God should be one of gratitude.

Prayer:

Lord, you have freed my soul. I cannot even begin to thank you enough for that. Let my life be one lived always thinking of my gratitude towards you for redeeming me. Hallelujah, I am free. I am free.

Amen.

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