Slideshow image

MORNING MEDITATION
Guess what? You have been given another Monday! You have been given a start to a brand new week and you get to choose the attitude with which you greet each day. Starting with a grateful heart overflowing with thanksgiving for what God has done and for who He is can change the way you see your world. When you realize that life doesn’t just happen to you but that you get to happen to your life, you will grasp the power that your praise can have.

If you believe that you have been blessed because God has been good, express your gratitude to Him and watch that appreciation affect your outlook. Try it!

Want more? Grab a sticky note, a notepad, or your phone, and keep a running list of what you are grateful for today. Then watch gratitude make a difference in your day.

It's easy to focus on what's wrong in our lives. But not today! Take a moment to choose gratitude and focus on what is right. Today we're thanking God for meeting our physical needs, and this morning we're thanking God for keeping us physically safe.

Prayers for physical safety might sound like:

  • Thank You for protecting me from physical danger.
  • Thank You for providing the home in which live.
  • Thank You for those who serve in my community to keep all safe.
  • Thank You for sheltering me from cold and heat.

Write a personal prayer of gratitude in your journal or spiral notebook. Your thanksgiving will shape the way you experience today.

Even though the praise and thanksgiving prayer isn't scheduled in this book every day, you might want to make it your goal to record these "attitude of gratitude" prayers during the next twenty-one days.

Sometimes, you just need to stop and say thanks.

Dear God, I want to take a minute not to ask for anything from You but simply to say thank You for all I have.

This afternoon, we're thanking God for His physical provision for our bodies.

Prayers for physical safety might sound like:

• Thank You for providing the food I have eaten and will eat today. 
• Thank You for the clothing You've provided for me to wear.
• Thank You for the health I've enjoyed in my body, and the things you allow me to do with it.
• Thank You for access to medical providers and treatments I need to stay well.

Today, and every day, you can use your body's needs as cues to offer gratitude to God:

When you sit to eat, thank God for being a faithful provider. As you dress in the morning, thank God for all your body can do. When you do something amazing–like hug a child or lift groceries or throw a Frisbee-thank God for the abilities He has given you. When your body groans-sneezes or comes down with a flu bug or sustains an injury-thank God for access to the care you need to get well.

Thank God for meeting all your needs.

While it's true that starting your day with a grateful heart can set the tone for your attitude and actions throughout the day, it's not the end of the world if you forget. Pause to go back to this morning's prayer prompt and give thanks. Stop and look around you. What are the physical blessings God has provided that you can thank Him for?

The hard part of praying without ceasing is remembering to do it throughout the day. But God is always with you. You just have to keep the conversation going. If you didn't stop this morning to talk to God, it's not too late. Even if you were rushed this morning, take a moment and give Him a little bit of time right now. You are still on the front end of your day.

EVENING INSPIRATION
GOD: Love, please be careful about giving Me leftover time. I'm here. No doubt about that. But you miss out when you speed through your time with Me.

No matter how tired you are tonight, don't skip talking to God before you go to bed. If you turned on the TV and settled into veg out, try giving God a few minutes of your time. If you are on the verge of passing out because you are so tired, give God just five minutes before you turn in. If you forgot to talk to Him today, that has absolutely nothing to do with whether you spend a couple of minutes talking to Him tonight. Do it. Talk to Him. Put Him first. You will be the better for it. Create a gratitude list and tuck it into your Bible or your wallet, post it on your mirror or on the fridge-wherever you will see it-and whenever you need to be reminded of what's good in your life and how good your God is, pull it out. If you need more inspiration for practicing thankfulness and gratitude as a way of life, check out One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.

Tonight we're thanking God for providing all we need to survive and thrive.

  • Maybe it's the bike you rode to work or the van that transported your children.
  • Maybe it's the wood you're using to build a dog house or tree fort.
  • Maybe it's the soil in your yard that grows nutritious veggies.
  • Maybe it's a child's worn blankie.

Even though you may be feeling worn out at the end of the day, thank God for meeting your physical needs. Right now, in the middle of dinner dishes, in the middle of exhaustion from another day, in the middle of running errands, running kids, or running on the treadmill, give thanks!

Find something. One thing. Anything. 

What went right today? 

If you look closely, even on the worst of days, you will discover that God has still been good. How can you thank Him?

Don't forget to get out your gratitude journal or spiral notebook (or even the notes on your phone if all else fails).

And in addition to giving thanks, we also want to praise God simply for who He is. If you want to go a step farther, close your day by finding a praise and worship channel on Pandora or Spotify and spend a few minutes reflecting on God's goodness.You might even find that you rest better because of it.

PRAYER PROMPT
Dear God, today I'm grateful for ___________________. I'm thankful that You _____________.  I adore You because You are _________________.