With this being the month of Thanksgiving, and with me thinking about how my faith life truly ignited, for which I am truly grateful, I consider how this all started for me. I think about a certain dear friend, who believed without a doubt in the power of prayer.
How can he think this way? Really? Power in prayer? I did not get this at all. So I asked my dear friend, “How can you possibly believe without a doubt in the power of prayer.” Without a pause, and looking directly into my eyes, he said, “I just do!” So I continued my questioning on how this all happened for him and how can it be?
He continued by telling me that he had a dear friend tell him something that changed his life. His friend told him not to get out of bed on any day until he had sincerely considered ten things for which he was grateful, and then to thank God for each one of them. Every day, a new list of ten things, which may have some duplication from the previous day. However, each day, a sincere effort was required. That was it.
This all seemed too simple. How can this possibly work? Well, my dear friend had no doubt at all that this would do it. So, I followed his advice. Every day, I made this sincere effort to think of ten things for which I was grateful before getting out of bed, and I would thank God for these ten things.
After a while, I found myself thanking God during my day. I developed an attitude of gratitude, and I gave my God thanks for it. Before long, I found myself asking for help, praying for others, and praying for me. Before long, with an attitude of gratitude, I found myself in a life of prayer. I found a relationship with my God. For over twelve years now, my conversation with my God has not ended, every hour!
This attitude of gratitude changed my life!