A Prayer to Be More Grateful
By: Victoria Riollano
I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. - Psalm 9:1
As a parent, there have been many moments I felt “used.” With each child bringing their list of wants for their birthday or everyday life, I wonder if they really appreciate me or just love what I do. If I make them happy enough, I am usually greeted with a “thank you” from my older children. My younger ones, however, tend to grab their occasional gifts with a burst of excitement and forget to say “thank you,” unless they are prompted. There is a sense of “I deserve this” written all over their faces in these moments.
In Psalm 9:1, David writes of sincere gratefulness. He states that he will thank the Lord with all His heart. Half-hearted thankfulness or a simple acknowledgment is not enough. Not only does the psalmist thank the Lord with his whole heart, but he also commits to telling all of God’s wonderful deeds. In other words, he just can’t keep withholding sharing how much God has done for him. His heart explodes with the opportunity to share the good news that God’s goodness. Even more so, David recognizes that to receive from the Lord is an honor.
If I’m honest, I’ve been guilty of not being as grateful as I should be. Instead of coming to the Lord humbly, with a heart of thanks, I have come with an attitude of entitlement. In my mind, of course, I deserved a blessing! I went to church, gave my tithes, prayed, and have been good to people. My pride followed blessings, when I should have had a humble heart, in awe that God would grant me favor again.
Likewise, in many ways, I couldn’t wait to tell people of the “wonderful deeds” God had done. Unfortunately, my motivation for sharing God’s goodness was from a place of personal “horn-tooting,” versus a sincere honoring the Lord. In many ways, my thankfulness was only half-hearted as it was more about what I had accomplished and less about His goodness.
Although Psalm 9:1 should be a source of encouragement, for many, it is a wake-up call to ask ourselves, “Do we really appreciate our Father in heaven?” Would we be okay if He never did another thing for us? Is His presence and His promise of salvation enough? Could we say thank you endlessly, just for His love alone? Have we committed to sharing who He is and the good He’s done with a heart of humility?
These tough questions are convicting but reveal our true heart and perspective on who God is. For this reason, when we pray, we should not just bring our list of requests like a child on Christmas. Instead, we pray in awe of His goodness with humble thanksgiving.
My prayer today is that a heart of true gratitude will arise in our hearts. My prayer is that we would take each new day as a gift from the Lord and when He blesses us with more, we thank Him with our entire heart. May God grant us the opportunity to tell anyone who’s willing to listen of how good He is!
Let’s Pray -
Lord God,
I thank you for what you’ve done in my life. I thank You for each day, for Your work on the cross, and for helping me overcome the toughest battles of my life. Father forgive me for the times I don’t operate from an attitude of sincere gratitude. Teach me to do so and to openly share your goodness with the world around me.
Help me to never grow weary of praising you for all that you’ve done.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Victoria Riollano is an author, blogger, and speaker. As a mother of six, military spouse, Psychology professor and minister’s wife, Victoria has learned the art of balancing family and accomplishing God’s ultimate purpose for her life. Recently, Victoria released her book, The Victory Walk: A 21 Day Devotional on Living A Victorious Life. Her ultimate desire is to empower women to live a life of victory, hope, and love. She believes that with Christ we can live a life that is ALWAYS winning. You can learn more about her ministry at victoryspeaks.org.
Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
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