Colossians 4:2 
Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving. (CSB)

Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. (NLT)

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I have been using the Day One Journal app for years. There are templates to help guide planning and reflection and blank pages to fill with whatever is on a person’s heart and mind. There is currently a fourteen-day Gratitude Journaling Challenge leading up to Thanksgiving Day. The three prompts so far are 

* What is one good thing in my life I often overlook?
* Who brings joy to my daily life?
* What is one thing I like about this time of year?

These daily prompts arrive each morning. I’ve been using a hand-written notebook as my gratitude journal for years. I write in it each evening before bedtime. This means I am doubly thankful in this season. This seems appropriate, doesn’t it? Morning and evening, my reflections turn to God’s goodness and grace.

The Apostle Paul has a lot to say about prayer in this letter. He gives instructions about prayer, tells how he is praying, and notes how his companions are praying. This verse is one of my favorites regarding how to pray. He tells us to pray “with an alert mind and a thankful heart.”

Prayer like this seldom drifts toward drudgery. 

There are times when we are not quite sure how to pray. Attuning our minds toward gratitude helps move us in the right direction. Intentional gratitude turns our thoughts toward God’s good gifts in our lives. Many of these are mundane like cooler weather and seasonal rain. Others are so readily apparent that we may feel like we are prone to overdo it, like when we express thanks for our grandchildren.

Gratitude unlocks many pleasant benefits. It focuses our attention on what we have instead of what we don’t. It reminds us of what is truly good and worth preserving. It draws us into a frame of mind focused on possibilities. It gives us confidence.

What are you grateful for right now? 

I am grateful for the physical therapist team who will work me over an hour from now. As unpleasant as it is while they are doing it, the benefits provide strength and flexibility for important things like lifting and holding my granddaughters. So that I will not be late to my appointment, I will end this moment of written contemplation right here. However, the gratitude will go on all day. Gratitude cheers our hearts and calms our fears. 

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I will stay alert for opportunities to thank God.

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Our Father, thank you for intentional opportunities to ponder how good you are to us. Thank you for all of the mundane and special blessings of our lives. Awaken our minds to purposeful reflection. Empower us to live the kinds of lives others will experience with gratitude. Amen.