Thanksgiving, Day 2

Thanksgiving

What are your talents? What do you have to give?

I know I am supposed to be writing about one of the top 3 things we are thankful for, but with only 6 responses to the poll (thank you for responding), I feel that we may need to touch on a broader subject, us.

I also wanted to steer away from writing about the same things we always hear at Thanksgiving, my guess is that several readers will not be reading this week anyway. For those of you who are, I felt you may need something different today.

Dear Lord,
You are awesome and amazing, your name is above all others. I look forward to the day that I am with you in heaven. Lord, I ask that you teach us your word each day. When we are hungry, feed us and when we thirst for more, quench our thirst. I am sorry for anything that I may have said or done that was not pleasing to you. If there is sin in my life, please reveal it to me. I forgive those that have sinned against me and ask that you restore them and work in their lives. Please stand in the way of the path of temptation and destruction. Help me to stay pure in thought. Reveal to me the talents you meant for your glory and help me to use them for good. Help me to have a generous heart even when I feel I have nothing to give to others. I am thankful for you and your provision. In your sons precious name, Amen.

Have you ever noticed that thankfulness is a heart issue? After writing the prayer above, I felt more thankful than I did before, more connected. I used the Lord's Prayer as an example to write that prayer. I think Jesus was giving us this example because it really dissolves anything that we may be holding onto that could get in the way of our thankfulness and hinder our praise. If we have unforgiveness or denial about our own sins, we will have a blockage in our heart that will hinder our ability to FULLY engage in Thankful praise. Now I am not a ritual type of person. In fact, I steer away from anything that starts to be a pattern because of my fear of becoming addicted to something. One thing that I know is true is that when I wake up each morning, the mornings that I start in praise and genuine thankfulness that I have another day of life, are the days that go more smoothly. The days I pray from the depths of my heart using the Lords prayer as my example, I feel more connected to God, available to be used for his glory and in a state of prayer and thanksgiving.

Go ahead and give it a try. The more you do it, the more you will see that it's hard to hold onto anything that would come between you and God. It will also make you more aware of the things you need to work on. If you ask God to reveal something to you, I believe he will.

Have a great day.

Luke 11:2
He said to them,
"When you pray, say:
" 'Father,hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
3Give us each day our daily bread.
4Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.' "