The holiday season is here, and what is on everyone’s social media feed all November long?
I’m grateful for this. We are so blessed. Thirty days of thanksgiving. So on and so forth. You get my point.
The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. Psalm 28:7.
Why can’t we do this all year? We’ve got to find some way to work this into our everyday lives. God gives us everything. They say He’s the reason for the season but I say He’s the reason for everything!
So what will being truly thankful do for us?
It will bring us closer to Him.
There’s nothing like constantly reminding ourselves of all of our blessings to bring us closer to our Holy Father. I made a conscious effort to show Him gratitude for the little things in life, like getting to work safely, meaningful conversations with my children, and little victories in my work life. It made me appreciate Him so much more. It really made a marked difference in my relationship with Him.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! Psalm 100:4.
It will increase our joy.
You know that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you’re with your family on Thanksgiving and Christmas? We really can replicate that all year long! Reminding ourselves daily of your blessings and giving our Heavenly Father His due gratitude will give you more joy with what you already have.
I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:30.
You May Like: 30 Days of Gratitude Daily Bible Reading Plan
Other people will notice.
The people closest to you will notice – it’ll be kind of hard not to when you’re stopping every so often to pray. But the benefit here is that you hope to inspire change in those people. They will see the increased joy you have in your life because of the continuous gratitude you feel. They’ll want to follow in your footsteps. This has been one of my favorite benefits because of my children. They saw me thanking God at every opportunity and they started to do the same. It’s an absolutely beautiful thing!
Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. Philippians 3:17.
We will receive our blessings.
It sounds a little crazy, but it’s true! Praying with thanksgiving sets the tone for us to ask God for what we need. Check this out:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6.
Be anxious for nothing, pray for everything, and be thankful for everything! If you’re asking for your needs with gratitude for your blessings, you’re going to get somewhere. Believe it or not, there is a way to pray. It’s definitely not to only pray when you’re ready to ask for something. We’ve got to show Him praise, confess, and show gratitude as well. It’s all modeled in the Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13), which came straight from the Son of God. Where better could we learn how to pray?
“Pray then like this: Our Father, in Heaven, hallowed be your name.” Matthew 6:9.
God deserves our gratitude, all day, every day. Additionally, showing Him gratitude will be beneficial to you! It will take a little bit of work to get into the habit of doing it; according to the articles I’ve read lately, it’s 66 days to get into the habit of doing something new. It will be worth your effort though, you can bet on that!
Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. Proverbs 16:3.
You could put a note on your bathroom mirror just to remind yourself to add it to your daily prayer. You could set an alarm to set a specific time of day aside to give Him gratitude. Or, something that helped me – you could start a gratitude journal
. It could be written or digital, it doesn’t matter! Whatever helps you to get into the habit!
Give it a try. It has truly changed my life, and I have no doubt it will do the same for you.
Related: Searching for Thankfulness
Emily Bertram
Emily is the writer and site builder of Be Strong and Fearless. She is a daughter of the King and the mother of two beautiful blessings, Madalyn and Annabella. She adores God, coffee, and yoga. Connect with her online at Be Strong and Fearless
