This month I’m excited to be doing a series on Bible verses that talk about being thankful. Today’s verse is Colossians 4:2 which reads “Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.”
I love this verse because it encourages us to be thankful while praying. Not only should we be communicating with God about our day, and about the concerns we have, we should be expressing our thanks. It’s not hard to come up with things to thank God for (look around outside), but it can be hard to express them without feeling insincere. If you challenge yourself to finding something new each day to be thankful for, instead of the same old thing, it will feel less insincere. Take time each morning to ask God to show you things to be thankful for too.
Expressing your thanks frequently throughout the day also helps you to be in the mindset of having a thankful heart. Thank those who hold doors open for you, thank clerks at the food store, thank your barista who serves you coffee in the morning, thank the little animal for wandering in your garden and appreciate family members who cook or clean. In order to remember to thank these people, you must be alert! If your mind is alert, like the verse says, not only will you be more attentive to people’s actions, and therefore be able to appreciate them, you’ll also be more attentive and considerate in life.
And after you’ve thanked all the people around you, make sure to take time at the end of the day to thank God too. Before your mind gets sleepy and body gets tired, spend time in prayer. It can be hard to always start with the things you are thankful for, so if you need to release the burdens of the day, do that first, and then go into the things you are thankful for that day. Don’t be shy, really take time to express the things that really made an impact on you and you are grateful for. Feel those happy, grateful feelings again, let that smile come to your face and warmth to your heart.
Regardless of how difficult your day was, I encourage you to finish your day with thankful prayer. It’s a great, and positive, way to end your day!
Share what you are prayerfully thankful for today below 🙂
Laura Dickey 