By Prayer and Petition with Thanksgiving #1
Commercially, the Thanksgiving holiday gets dwarfed between Halloween costumes and Christmas presents. I get it. Retailers can only sell so many pumpkins and cornucopia decorations. But
As my heart turns toward thanking God more and grumbling less, I decided to reflect that in our prayer time each week this month. We start with the passage that inspired the title of this limited series.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6 NIV
The Believer’s Bible Commentary describes prayer as “both an act and an atmosphere”. I love this. Instead of bringing our list of requests once a day (although I do this), we can live a life of constant prayer. And this, I believe, along with gratitude for who God is and all He does, helps to dispel our anxiety.
My prayer for a loved one:
Replace the pronouns with the appropriate ones for the person (or yourself) that you are praying for.
I would love it if you would fill the comments this month with things you for which you thank our Lord and Savior. Let’s flood this space with gratitude. And don’t forget to share this on your favorite social media platform using the icons below. Invite others to join in the thanksgiving. And if you don’t want to miss any of the party, subscribe using the form on the right hand side of this page.
Praying for you in this.
I loved this, Lauren. Thanksgiving >> “both an act and an atmosphere.”
Me too, Joanne. May it be with me.
I’ve been thinking about what kind of God our God is – what it means to be a worthy God – one who wants good for us, not evil. One who planned our days and the saving and growing of me in my challenges – and how He turns the heart ache into something beautiful! I am thankful He is a God who loves to redeem, not tear apart!
I’m so thankful as well, Maryleigh. Thank you for weighing in.
Love this Lauren.
Thank you, Paula!
I am so thankful for all the ways the Lord has done more than I could ask or imagine as well as all the things he has done in answer to what I HAVE asked or imagined. He’s been generous in answering my prayers. I’m so thankful. Thank you for the call to give thanks!
What a beautiful list of thanks and praise, Amy! Thank you for contributing.
I loved this, Lauren! I’m so thankful for a a loving God who does hear our prayers and helps us in our times of joy and sorrow without fail. He has brought our family through so many things and showed me so many things during this past year when I was struggling with breast cancer. What a mighty, loving God we serve!
Thank you for sharing your praises! And I’m saying a prayer for you in your breast cancer journey, Paula.
I thank God that I still speak,
I thank God that I’m alive
even though I am now weak,
I am cared for by my tribe,
not of persons, Lord forfend,
or by readers of my blog;
I admit that in the end
fate is handled by the dogs
that are quiet, as I write
(for to them, the time is late),
but gegenschein, the sacred sight
will have them barking at the gate
to make me rise, and give my all
to the sound that is God’s call.
Thank you for sharing this, Andrew.
My own heart’s prayer is for thanksgiving to become my knee jerk reaction. I have a lot of learning to do.
What a wonderful thing to pray for yourself!