This week we conclude our series of "Prayers for Living"-inspired Reflections by turning to God with a prayer for Expressing Gratitude.
We hope these prayers and related readings have helped enrich your journey of faith and prepare you for the coming of Advent, which we begin celebrating next week.
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Recommended Reading
"As we move toward a more profound understanding of gratitude, we must be willing to include the wholeness of Life—both the light and the dark and the holy potential in each.…Being thankful for our blessings does not mean we are entitled to them or deserve them."
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Praying constantly is a connection that develops as a result of a deepening relationship with God and a growing alliance with your true self as parallel journeys. In some ways, they are the same journey. This same spiritual movement toward unity is at play as we journey from simply making grateful choices to actually becoming grateful people.
It's difficult to experience gratitude as a constant condition, but it can be consistent. Over time, thanksgiving can seep into our bones and become a part of who we are.
Gracious God, In the busyness of my day, I sometimes forget to stop to thank You for all that is good in my life. My blessings are many and my heart is filled with gratefulness for the gift of living, for the ability to love and be loved, for the opportunity to see the everyday wonders of creation, for sleep and water, for a mind that thinks and a body that feels.
The blessings for which we hunger are not to be found in other places or people. These gifts can only be given to you by your self. They are at home at the hearth of your soul.
Journey to a Thankful Heart
Though gratitude is more a process than a choice, there are numerous choices we can make that cooperate with that sacred dynamic of thanksgiving, and some choices that throw up roadblocks.
First, we must dare to believe that the journey to a thankful heart is a trip worth taking.
Secondly, we'll look at some of the barriers that sidetrack us.
Next, we'll consider navigating the bridges to gratitude.
Then, through God's grace, we may actually find ourselves becoming thankful people.
