Daily Hope – Growing in the Seasons of
life - Saturday, 30 November 2013 – “Grateful Prayer Brings Peace” by Rick
Warren
"Don't worry about anything;
instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all
he has done. Then you will experience God's peace." (Philippians 4:6-7a
NLT)
In Philippians 4:6-7 we find one of the
most difficult verses in the entire Bible to obey: "Don't worry about
anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him
for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace" (NLT).
It’s not easy to stop worrying about the
often-scary, everyday parts of our lives, but God tells us how in the next part
of the verse: “pray about everything … thank him for all he has done.” Grateful
prayer brings peace. God says, when you start to worry, pray.
Parents understand the power of grateful
prayers. Most parents wouldn’t appreciate their children always making requests
without saying “thank you” for what they’ve already received. God sees it the
same way. He wants us to ask him for what we need and want. More than 20 times
in the New Testament, we’re told to “ask” him. But he wants us to ask with
gratefulness.
The Bible urges us to be specific in our
requests — and our praises. Instead of a simple “thank you for
everything," he wants us to tell him what we’re grateful for. When I say
to my wife, "I'm so grateful for you,” she tells me to be specific. She
likes to hear what I appreciate about her and what I'm grateful for about her.
God wants to hear the same things. So
when you pray, tell God what you’re thankful for. Prayer is one of the most
important ways we tell God “thank you.”
Thanking God in advance is a big step of
faith. The Bible says that when we have the faith to thank God ahead of time,
miracles happen. The more thankful we are, the more God works in our lives. The
Bible says that God inhabits the praise of his people. He empowers and uses our
thanksgiving as an instrument of power in our lives.
Talk It Over
Why do you think gratitude is so
important for our spiritual lives?
Being as specific as possible, for what
are you thankful to God? Spend some time in prayer, thanking God for those
things.
What are some ways you believe God will
bless you in the future? Thank God for those things — even before they happen.
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