“God smiles when we praise and thank Him continually. Few things feel better than receiving heartfelt praise and appreciation from someone else. God loves it, too… An amazing thing happens when we offer praiseand thanksgiving to God. When we give God enjoyment,our own hearts are filled with joy.” – Rick Warren
It is not easy to give thanks in every circumstance.But when we choose to thank God in the midst of difficulty, it defeats the forces of darkness in the spiritual realm. When we thank God for every gift He has given us even when things are hard, the enemy loses the battle against us. He is stopped in his tracks when we come to God with a thankful heart.
Learn to be thankful for every blessing from God in your life. It is of great significance to Him if in the midst of great trials, we can be thankful. There is a way of looking at life from the standpoint of eternity. The reality of eternal life and eternal glory that far exceeds this life is a priceless treasure. Our afflictions are working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
Let’s learn to thank God every day during this Thanksgiving season.
A Prayer for a Thankful Heart
Lord, teach me to offer you a heart of thanksgiving and praise in all my daily experiences of life. Teach me to be joyful always, to pray continually and to give thanks in all my circumstances. I accept them as Your will for my life (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). I long to bring pleasure to Your heart daily. Break the power of the enemy in my life. Defeat Him through my sacrifice of praise. Change my outlook and attitude into one of joyful contentment with my present circumstances. I thank You for… Jesus, I want to be like You who obeyed the Father without complaint. You embraced the chains of humanity when You walked this earth. Convict me whenever I complain or compare myself with others. Give me Your attitude of humility and thankful acceptance. I want to be like the Apostle Paul who learned contentment in every circumstance. I choose to continually offer You a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that give praise to Your name (Hebrews 13:15). I long to bring a smile to Your face. Teach me the power of a thankful heart. I know that Your truth dwells in a thankful heart.“I will give thanks to the LORD because of His righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens” (Psalm 7:17-18:1). In Jesus’ name, amen.
Together in the Harvest,
Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
International House of Prayer Kansas City (IHOP-KC)
www.intercessorsarise.org
What are you thankful for today? Join our large praying community in the comments below and experience the joy and praise that comes from many lifting thanks to God!
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This article is part of our larger Prayers resource meant to inspire and encourage your prayer life when you face uncertain times. Visit our most popular prayers if you are wondering how to pray or what to pray. Remember, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us and God knows your heart even if you can’t find the words to pray.
Prayer for Healing
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There is no doubt that the Bible is filled with accounts of Jesus’ healing miracles. When we look at the healing ministry of Jesus, we recognize the vital connection we have with it – We are His body on earth today. If you look at any of Jesus’ healing miracles, it will reveal facts about how He healed and whom He healed. Jesus did this by the Word and through the faith of those who desired His healing including the sick, those who had demons and those who were desperate and persistent. There are many questions that come up related to the ministries of healing. These questions often include does God heal everyone, why are some people not healed and whose faith is necessary for healing? While we don’t have all the answers, Scripture tells us to turn to prayer.
The Bible says, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord” (James 5:14). We also know from Scripture that we can find healing through speaking the Word to our sickness. The Bible tells us, “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says” (Mark 11:23). It’s important that we note carefully from the previous verse that we must say clearly his need. This word must be spoken confidently. If you or someone you know if facing a difficult illness or disease, it can be hard to know where to turn. Many of us want to cry out to God, but don’t know exactly what to pray. If you feel alone or afraid about the future and want to unleash God’s healing power in your life, lift up these prayers for healing:
Prayer for a Sick Person
During His earthly ministry, Jesus said many prayers for healing, miraculously causing the sick to recover. Today, Jesus continues to pour out His healing balm. Is there someone who needs God’s healing touch? Do you wish to say a prayer for a sick friend or family member? We can lift these concerns up to the Great Physician, the Lord Jesus Christ. If you or someone you know is sick, turn to this prayer:
Dear Jesus, Divine Physician and Healer of the Sick, I turn to You in this time of illness. Dearest Comforter of the troubled, alleviate our worry and sorrow with Your gentle love, and grant us the grace and strength to accept this burden. We place our worries in Your hands. We ask that You restore Your servant to health again. Above all, grant us the grace to acknowledge Your holy will and know that whatever You do, You do for the love of us. Amen.
Prayer of Surrender
Surrendering your life to God means following His lead without knowing where He’s sending you. You know you’ve surrendered to God when you rely on Him to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda or control a situation. It’s important that you let go and let God work. You don’t always have to be in charge or in control. Instead of trying harder, you trust more. If you are looking to surrender your life now to God, turn to this prayer:
Dear Lord, it is my will to surrender to you everything that I am and everything that I’m striving to be. I open the deepest recesses of my heart and invite Your Holy Spirit to dwell inside of me. I offer you my life, heart, mind, body, soul and spirit. I surrender to you my past, present and future problems. I ask You to take hold over every aspect of my life. I surrender to You all my hurt, pain, worry, doubt, fear and anxiety, and I ask You to wash me clean. I release everything into Your compassionate care. Please speak to me clearly, Lord. Open my ears to hear Your voice. Open my heart to commune with You more deeply. I want to feel Your loving embrace. Open the doors that need to be opened and close the doors that need to be closed. Please set my feet upon the straight and narrow road that leads to everlasting life. Amen.
Prayer to Renew Mind, Body and Spirit
What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning as you go about your day? Every moment of every day you have the freedom to think about whatever you want. What you think about is the most important factor in how you feel and what you say and do. Your thinking determines the person you become. Real, lasting change is always an inside our process that begins with our mind, goes down into our heart and body and then goes outward into our behavior and relationships. If you are looking for your mind, body and spirit to be renewed, turn to this prayer:
Dear Lord, I come before You today in need of Your healing hand. In You all things are possible. Hold my heart within Yours, and renew my mind, body and soul. I am lost, but I come to You with grace. You gave us life, and You also give us the gift of infinite joy. Give me the strength to move forward on the path you’ve laid out for me. Guide me towards better health and give me the wisdom to identify those you’ve placed around me to help me get better. Amen.
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Crowded With Gratitude
Lord God,
Our hearts are crowded with gratitude
as we celebrate the feast of Thanksgiving.
We have come to this our feasting table
with great joy and eagerness,
for we are truly grateful to you, our God,
for all that we have been given.
We pause now and, in silent prayer,
do thank you for the great generosity of Your gifts.
We also thank one another for gifts –
especially for the gifts of love and affection
that we have freely shared.
We are thankful
for all who are present at this our feast
as well as for all those who have labored in love
in order to bring this dinner to our table.
May You, our God, bless this Thanksgiving feast
and all of us who shall share it
in your holy name.
– Hays, Edward, Prayers for the Domestic Church: A Handbook for Worship in the Home (Kansas: Forest of Peace Books, 1979), 122.
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Giving Thanks
For the expanding grandeur of creation, worlds known and unknown, galaxies beyond galaxies, filling us with awe and challenging our imaginations:
We give thanks this day.
For this fragile planet earth, its times and tides, its sunsets and seasons:
We give thanks this day.
For the joy of human life, its wonders and surprises, its hopes and achievements:
We give thanks this day.
For our human community, our common past and future hope, our oneness transcending all separation, our capacity to work for peace and justice in the midst of hostility and oppression:
We give thanks this day.
For high hopes and noble causes, for faith without fanaticism, for understanding of views not shared:
We give thanks this day.
For all who have labored and suffered for a fairer world, who have lived so that others might live in dignity and freedom:
We give thanks this day.
For human liberty and sacred rites; for opportunities to change and grow, to affirm and choose:
We give thanks this day.
We pray that we may live not by our fears but by our hopes, not by our words but by our deeds.
We give thanks this day.
– O. Eugene Pickett
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Remembering Others
O God, when I have food,
help me to remember the hungry;
When I have work,
help me to remember the jobless;
When I have a home,
help me to remember those who have no home at all;
When I am without pain,
help me to remember those who suffer,
And remembering,
help me to destroy my complacency;
bestir my compassion,
and be concerned enough to help;
By word and deed,
those who cry out for what we take for granted.
– Author Unknown
>> Prayer Card
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Thanksgiving
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything thy goodness sends.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
>> Prayer Card
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Ev’ry Year About This Time
God, ev’ry year about this time,
according to routine,
I’ve bowed my head in the accepted way
and offered thanks, like some well synchronized machine
that prayed because it was the time to pray.
But, God, this year is different, this year I seem to feel
America’s Thanksgiving is my own,
that in my nation’s gratitude I have a part that’s real,
a part that until now I’ve never known.
And, God, this year a deep humility has filled my heart,
a newborn pride rings true throuout my soul
because I do belong, because I have and am a part,
a tiny part of one tremendous whole.
I think I know the feeling of those first Americans
who said, “We must give thanks for this, our land.”
I cherish now the rights that are each woman’s, ev’ry man’s,
the rights I’ve just begun to understand.
This year my heart has learned what all Thanksgiving Days are for,
true thankfulness at last I realize,
but, God, I’m sorry that it took the tragedy of war
in other lands to open up my eyes. Again I bow my head but this time deep within me stirs
a mighty prayer, part of one vast design,
“God, help me make America as proud that I am hers
as I am proud, and grateful she is mine!”
– Kathryn Kay
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Thanksgiving Is
Thanksgiving is
a time of gratitude to God, our Creator and Provider,
whose guidance and care go before us…
and whose love is with us forever.
Thanksgiving is
a time to reflect on the changes,
to remember that we, too, grow and change
from one season of life to another.
Thanksgiving is
a time of changing seasons, when leaves turn golden
in Autumn’s wake and apples are crisp
in the first chill breezes of fall.
Let us remember the true meaning of Thanksgiving.
As we see the beauty of Autumn,
let us acknowledge the many blessings which are ours…
let us think of our families and friends..
and let us give thanks in our hearts.
– Author Unknown
>> Prayer Card
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Thankful For Today
We thank you God,
for creating the world
and for preserving it until now.
We thank you for the regular return of day and night,
and of the seasons,
and for the dependability of nature and of time.
We thank you for memory,
which enables us to build on the experiences of the past;
for imagination,
which admits us to a wider world than we could otherwise know;
and for foresight,
by which we plan for the future.
We thank you for your patience with us in our failings;
for friends and family with whom we can celebrate our successes;
and for those closest to us who support us in our times of need.
Bless this meal and us gathered here.
Bless those who have little food or friends to comfort them in body or spirit.
Bless those who are unable to be with us this day,
and those who have gone before us in faith.
We ask this in your name.
– Author Unknown
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Thanksgiving for Healing
Omnipotent and eternal God,
You watch over your children,
with your tender and loving care.
I thank you this day
for your mercy and grace.
I am grateful for your healing power,
and for the abundant blessings
you have given me.
But most of all,
I am thankful for the promise of salvation,
given through your Son, our Lord.
Through him, when all is completed,
there will be no more sickness or pain.
I pray in his name.
– David Bennett
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