The Power of Being Thankful: 365 Devotions for Discovering the Strength of Gratitude (64 page)

As believers, we have the life of God inside of us.
We are the dwelling place or home of God
. This truth is necessary for each of us to understand in order to enjoy close fellowship and intimacy with God. God takes up residence within us when we give our lives to Jesus, believing in Him as the only Savior and Lord. From that position, He, by the power of the Holy Spirit, begins a wonderful work in us.

We can be thankful that God loves us and chooses to make His home in us. He has the ability to do what He wants, and He chooses to make His home in our hearts. This choice is based not on any good deeds we have done or ever could do, but solely on the grace, mercy, power, and love of God. As believers in Christ, we become God’s dwelling place (see Ephesians 3:17; 2 Timothy 1:14).

Thank You, Father, for the way You take up residence in my heart. You are not distant or out of reach. I thank You that You dwell in me and are involved in every area of my life.

Anger is a powerful emotion, but love is much stronger. And love is the model God has displayed for each of us.

One of the best ways to show your gratitude for God’s love is to share that love with others. Don’t just be a recipient of God’s love; be a dispenser of that love to all those you come in contact with.

Thank You, Father, for the display of love You have demonstrated for me to follow. I am grateful that You love me, and with Your help I am going to demonstrate that same love to others.

If I could only emphasize one thing about prayer, I would tell people that it is so much easier than we think. Thankfully, God has not made prayer complicated; it really is simple. Sometimes people make prayer dry and difficult; sometimes our religious mind-sets and “systems” present prayer in such a way that it seems out of reach for many of us.

I tell you the truth when I say that God desires our prayer lives to be natural and enjoyable. He wants our prayers to be honest and heartfelt, and He wants our communication with Him unencumbered by rules, regulations, obligations, and legalism. He intends for prayer to be an integral part of our everyday lives—the easiest thing we do each day.

Father, I thank You that I can speak to You naturally and honestly. Thank You that I can talk to You like a friend, and I can know that You are always there when I need You.

Short, simple prayers can be mighty beyond description, but that does not take away from the fact that prayer is also a grand mystery. Watchman Nee, a Chinese Christian who wrote many profound books while imprisoned for his faith, writes, “Prayer is the most wonderful act in the spiritual realm, as well as a most mysterious affair.”

I believe the greatest mystery of prayer is that it joins the hearts of people on earth with God’s heart in heaven. Prayer is spiritual and it goes into the unseen realm; it brings things out of that unseen realm into the realm we can see and into the world around us, right where we live.

We can thank God that prayer ushers spiritual blessings into our natural, everyday lives and brings spiritual power to bear on our earthly circumstances. We human beings are the only creatures in our known universe who can stand in the natural realm and touch the spiritual realm.

I thank You, Father, that You have entrusted to me the power of prayer. Help me to know that when I pray to You, I am not wasting words—I am connecting heaven to earth. Thank You, Lord, for the mystery and power of prayer.

It is difficult for our finite minds to grasp and believe that God wants to be involved in even the smallest details of our lives. But don’t ever hesitate to take what you think are small things to God. After all,
everything
is small to God.

I remember a woman who came to me for prayer and wanted to know if it would be all right if she asked God for two things. If not, she assured me that she would only ask for one. It makes me sad when I hear people say things like that.

We can be thankful because God is generous and He wants to give even more than we know how to ask for. You have not because you ask not (see James 4:2), so go ahead and ask boldly, because it is God’s will that you do so.

Father, I am thankful that there is no prayer request too big for You… and there is no prayer request too small for You. Today, I choose to bring every prayer need and declaration of thanksgiving to You, no matter how big or how small.