Category: Thankful

Sunday Praise and a Prayer

Posted on by Dorci

 

Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you today and praise your mighty name. Even though we don’t always understand what you’re doing in our lives, maybe even rarely, we know you have a plan and you’re working everything together for the good of those who love you and are called according to your purposes. You do everything well. 

Thank you for giving us a sense of humor to help lighten those heavy loads, to bring some cheerfulness to those dark days. Things can get pretty crazy, as you know, and you knew we’d need a way to bring a smile to our face. We’re so thankful for the amazingly thoughtful Father you are.

We praise You because we are fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, we know that full well. (Psalm 139:14)

Lord, help us to always remember and be grateful for the beautiful and complex way you’ve created us, and most of all, that you created us in your image. Only by your creative and thoughtful hand could that be accomplished, and we give you all the praise and honor and glory. 

In Jesus’ most holy and precious name we pray, amen.

Great Things!

Posted on by Dorci

 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! May we ever be aware of the blessings continually coming from our precious Heavenly Father, and never fail to give Him thanks.

 

The Lord has done
GREAT
things for us, and we
are filled with
JOY!

Ps 126:3

 

 
 
 

Sunday Praise and a Prayer As We Look Forward

Posted on by Dorci

“{The disciples} brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’

‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’

‘Hosanna in the highest heaven!'”
Matthew 21:7-9

***

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

And they cried out in a loud voice:

‘Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.’”
Revelation 7:9-10


Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you today and every day as we remember what you’ve done through your Son, and what you have prepared for our future. 

Christ’s triumphal entry was but a small foretaste of the victorious never-ending glory we’ll revel in while in the presence of our Savior and King. 

Thank you, Holy Father, for your immeasurable grace and mercy. Through all we must endure here, we look forward to this most joyful time, celebrating with You and one another the victory you’ve won for us. 

In Jesus’ most holy and precious name we pray, amen. 

 

The Saturday Song – Forever

Posted on by Dorci
 
Is there anything more worthy of giving thanks than for our God and Father who has declared His love through the sacrifice of His only Son, and tells us that nothing, nothing, will ever come between us and His love? 
 
He is love, all He does comes from love, and His love will endure forever.  For that, Lord, we offer you our hearts full of gratitude, forever. 

 
Forever
by Chris Tomlin
 
Give thanks to the Lord
Our God and King
His love endures forever
For He is good, He is above all things
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise
 
With a mighty hand
And outstretched arm
His love endures forever
For the life that’s been reborn
His love endures forever
 
Sing praise, sing praise
Sing praise, sing praise
Forever God is faithful
Forever God is strong
Forever God is with us
Forever
 
From the rising to the setting sun
His love endures forever
By the grace of God
We will carry on
His love endures forever
 
Sing praise, sing praise
Sing praise, sing praise
Yeah!
 
Forever God is faithful
Forever God is strong
Forever God is with us
Forever
Forever
 
Forever God is faithful
Forever God is strong
Forever God is with us
Forever
 
Sing praise, sing praise
Sing praise, sing praise
Oh, sing praise, sing praise
Sing praise, sing praise
 
Forever God is faithful
Forever God is strong
Forever God is with us
Forever

Yes You are!
Forever You are faithful
Forever You are strong
Forever You are with us
Forever
Forever

Scripture Picture – I Will Give Thanks

Posted on by Dorci

The Fruit of our Lips

Posted on by Dorci

Sunday Praise and a Prayer of Thanksgiving

Posted on by Dorci

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you.  We praise you for your sovereignty and your holiness. We praise you because you are worthy of all praise. 

Father, we always give you thanks, but during this week when we’ll stop for a day to observe all we have to be thankful for, before the turkey and the stuffing and the pie, we want to honor and bless you by thanking you for all you are and all you’ve done for us. 

For many it may be difficult to see what there is to be thankful for. Father, give us hearts that are softened toward you and willing to be thankful, even as a sacrifice to you. We pray that throughout the week you would put on our hearts all we have to be grateful for, for every good gift that’s come from you. 

Thank you for Jesus and for His sacrifice on the cross that paid for our sins, that He took the punishment that should have been ours. We are deeply and eternally thankful, Lord. 

Thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit who indwells us and leads us, teaches us, comforts us, strengthens us and fills us with your peace that passes all understanding. 

Thank you for calling us your children and providing us with everything we need. Thank you for being with us at all times, never leaving or forsaking us, but constantly shining your light and joy into our lives, especially when it seems as though the world around us is falling apart.  

Thank you for your faithfulness to keep every one of your promises, like preparing a home for us with you. 

Thank you for the people you’ve placed in our lives, for their love, the spiritual fellowship we share, and the friendship we enjoy. 

Thank you for every big thing and every small thing we can sometimes overlook in the busyness of our lives. 

Thank you for the sun and moon, clouds and rain, breezes and fresh air, flowers and trees, lakes and oceans, sunrises and sunsets, and even for the pets that make us smile. 

Thank you for blessing us so abundantly. 

And Lord, thank you for prayer. Thank you for allowing us, through Jesus, to come before you with every need, every desire, every fear, every hope, and for hearing us when we do, and for answering us according to your perfect will.  

Thank you, Father. Help us to be a people who are always mindful of your blessings and overflowing with thanksgiving. 

In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. 

 

From Gray to Living Color

Posted on by Dorci

 

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 4:6-7

 

There are times when we are inundated, either with our own personal experiences or through the outside world, with so much that’s going wrong.  

And when we enter into prayer it’s easy to jump right into those prayer requests, like we’re giving God our grocery list.  

But prayer is so much more.  

It’s sitting with and communing with our Heavenly Father.

Paul reminds us to pray with thanksgiving. In the Greek that word for thanksgiving means gratitude, or a grateful language, to God, as an act of worship.

Yes, we thank God for the things He’s done, but even more than that, we need to come to Him with an attitude of Thanksgiving. Of worship.

And that takes me back to the beginning. How do we pray with thanksgiving when everything around us feels like it’s crumbling? When all the world seems gray with empty shelves and unpaid bills and isolation and sickness and death?  

How can we see the good?  

We ask Jesus for His eyes. He sees the good, and when we see through His eyes we will see the good all around us – the things He’s done for us, the blessings we still have in the middle of it all, the beauty and kindness around us, like the kindness of a boy taking the time to stoop down for a minute to rid a yard of an ugly weed.  

And when He fills our hearts with His goodness, we can sit in communion, with hearts of thanksgiving, in worship.

With Jesus’ eyes, the world will go from gray to living color and we will be overcome with thanksgiving, just like this man who is suddenly able to see the beauty all around him that was there all along. 

 

 

Oh Lord, help us to see with your eyes…

The Spirit of Thanksgiving Past, Present, and Future

Posted on by Dorci

If H.G. Wells had been able to build a time machine, I wonder how many people would jump in the morning after Halloween, push the lever forward a couple of months and stop on December 25.  Eh, maybe the 24th. Jump from party to party, candy to presents, and skip Thanksgiving altogether.

I’ve never quite understood why some people seem content to forgo Thanksgiving.  Maybe because it’s not a commercial holiday it’s not as popular.

Maybe giving thanks doesn’t come as easy to us as getting gifts. Maybe people don’t understand how vital it is to our spiritual, mental, emotional, and even physical health to have a thankful heart. Maybe people don’t think they have much to be thankful for.  And maybe that answers a lot of questions about the state of our States.

Let’s jump in H.G. Wells’ time machine, pull the lever, and travel back to October, 1863, when Thanksgiving became a national holiday.

***

We’re in the middle of the Civil War.

It might seem a peculiar time to think about declaring a national holiday of giving thanks, but maybe it was the best time. A God-appointed time.

When we’re facing trials and hardships and pain and suffering is when we most need to stop…  and remember all we have to be thankful for, and most importantly, Who we have to be thankful for. 

So on October 3, 1863, roughly six months after he signed a Proclamation of a Day of Fasting, and a year and a half before the end of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln signed his Proclamation of Thanksgiving.

Of course, that’s only the beginning of Thanksgiving as our national holiday, but not the beginning of giving thanks. Other historical moments might also seem to have peculiar timing.

Let’s travel back a bit further…

***

After seeking the Lord and fasting, King Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, appointed men to sing these words to the Lord as they went into battle against their enemies:

“give thanks to the LORD,
for His love endures forever.”
2 Chronicles 20:21b

“As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.” (2 Chronicles 20:22)

***

While fleeing from his enemies, David gives thanks to the Lord because of His righteousness. (Psalm 7:17)

***

In the darkened night as He faced being arrested, tortured, and handed over to be crucified, Jesus gives thanks.

***

And while in the chains of a dark prison, Paul exhorts all of us to “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.” (Philip 4:6-7)

***

If praising God and giving thanks had the effect it did in the lives of all these who saw the Lord triumph in impossible situations, what could a heart of thanksgiving to the Lord do in our own lives?

While most of us aren’t facing a war, or prison, or death, we may be facing other, more personal trials. Could giving thanks not keep our eyes focused on our Father of the heavenly lights, from whom every good and perfect gift flows? And could giving thanks not be a gateway that would open our hearts to God’s joy and love and triumph in impossible situations?

I think so.

Another bit of peculiar timing I love is that Thanksgiving is just weeks before Christmas. Observing a time of giving thanks to God for all we’ve been blessed with might just keep us from allowing greed and materialism and self-importance to swallow up a pure and grateful heart as we (and our children) head into Christmastime, or any time.

Now, let’s time travel into the future just a bit…

***

We’re in heaven, living a life more full of love and joy than we ever could have imagined. God has wiped every tear from our eyes, and there is no more death or mourning or crying or pain. 

We’ve received the eternal inheritance we’d been promised could “never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” (1 Peter 1:4-6)

Truly, we have more to be thankful for, more treasures in this life and in heaven – more than we can see with our eyes, and infinitely more than could ever be contained in this life – than we have time to voice them.

Go ahead, I dare you to try…

 

Heavenly Father, we are filled with thanksgiving for all you’ve blessed us with, and all the blessings you have yet to show us. Thank you for your immeasurably gracious love, for our salvation from certain death, for your continual presence, your faithfulness, and for our eternal home in heaven with You. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.