As we approach the season of Thanksgiving, we have the beautiful opportunity to prepare our hearts and minds before the Lord. It is a time to quiet your heart before the Lord and recall all He has brought forward and done in your life and the world around you. No matter what circumstances you face, there are always places where we can find something to be thankful for before the Lord.
We come before You to thank You for the gift of family. As our Father, You have brought forward family in every form of the word. For those who follow God, we know that family is not limited to those solely related by blood, but there is the gift of family in the way of those who call You Abba, Father, and those who we are related to by DNA. Lord, we are so thankful for what family means and how in so many circumstances, a friend can often stick closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). Lord, thank You for Your heart for Your children and for those You have brought around us. We also pray for those who are craving family and for those who long to have trusted loved ones around them. We pray by Your Spirit that You would bring people who love You to each other to do life together in love.
We come before You to simply thank You for this year. Even in the hardest of seasons, there are places where we can find Your goodness, Light, and kindness. We know that it is a lie of the Enemy that challenging circumstances equal a terrible season, year, or time, but the Enemy does not have the final say. When things seem especially hard, help us to cling to John 16:33 as a great reminder that "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." Let our hearts not grow weary in doing good but continue to fight the good fight knowing that You are with us in every moment.
We come before You to rejoice in the good gifts that You have poured out upon us. We know that Your Word reminds us in James 1:17 that "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." You are a good Father, and instead of asking for more, we simply want to praise Your Holy Name in gratitude. Even in the smallest of things, be it a warm hug or just a day with food to eat, we want to thank You, for it is possible because of Your kindness to us.
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Community is a beautiful gift to us and something we want to sincerely praise You with our whole hearts. Romans 12:4-5 gives us the call, "For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." As members of the Body of Christ, we are not only invited but called to worship You in fellowship. This is a great gift, for in doing so, we also find ourselves doing life with one another, bearing each other's burdens, and loving others as You have called us to. From the beginning in Eden, you knew the great need for community, and we thank You that it continues today in such a beautiful way in Your Church Body.
We thank You for the gift of new seasons. King Solomon remarked in Ecclesiastes 3:1, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven." We also know that new seasons often invite new possibilities unknown or experiences we are yet to walk through within them. Let us consider Isaiah 43:18-19, ""Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Lord, You are doing a new thing, and we are immensely grateful to be part of this journey. We thank You that You go before us and walk with us every single step of the way in this new season as well, just as You have done before.
We praise You for Your faithfulness and where we have seen You prove faithful time and time again. We consider the Israelites in Joshua 3 and 4 preparing to enter the Promised Land. Lord, even though the Jordan River was at flood levels, You parted the waters, and the people walked across on dry land. You kept Your promise that Your people would enter the land, and You provided the way through in every step. Scripture reminds us of the importance of setting in our own hearts the reminders of what You have done, as it says in Joshua 4:4, "So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, "Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever." Lord, we want to recall the things You have done in our own lives (take a moment to praise Him for three places You have seen Him move in the past). We know You are a Good God, and we know You are with us always.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
As we enter the days and months to come where the season of Thanksgiving is at the forefront of our minds, perhaps this can be a place where we make a new habit of praise. We are often in a position of asking God for things, but how often do we simply praise Him for Who He is and what He has done? Try to begin a new practice of gratitude and thanksgiving by thanking Him for one to three things when you first wake up and then again when you go to bed. He is worthy of our sincere praise.
Cally Logan is an author and US History teacher from Richmond, Virginia. Her works have been featured on "The 700 Club Interactive," “Jesus Calling Blog,” and “Coffee and Bible Time,” among several notable outlets. She served as a mentor for young women for several years and enjoys challenging women to develop deeper relationships with God and to live fearlessly and authentically. She received her B.A. Degree from Regent University. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time in nature, having genuine chats over coffee, and woodworking. Her new book, The Wallflower That Bloomed, is available everywhere now. Connect with Cally: @CallyLogan Instagram CallyLogan.com
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