{"id":3968,"date":"2017-07-29T12:44:04","date_gmt":"2017-07-29T16:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/?p=3968"},"modified":"2017-07-29T12:44:04","modified_gmt":"2017-07-29T16:44:04","slug":"gratitude-secret-effective-prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/2017\/07\/gratitude-secret-effective-prayer.html","title":{"rendered":"Gratitude is the Secret to Effective Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"

I cried out to him for help, praising him as I spoke\u2026 (Psalm 66:17)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. (Philippians 4:6)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"sol-nature-gratitude-amanhaecer-rays-of-sunshine<\/a><\/p>\n

When we pray out of desperation, we often forget an important ingredient: that of thanksgiving. Without it, we lack an even more critical component in our prayers: faith. Scripture makes it clear that without faith, we cannot please God. So a prayer prayed in mere desperation, while sincere, might not avail much.<\/p>\n

When we pray with gratitude, we are remembering God\u2019s faithfulness to us in our past, calling to mind wonderful things He has done to deliver us and help us in our desperate need. Now we are faced with another desperate need; will we remember His goodness? Will we recall His righteous character?<\/p>\n

Are you in a desperate situation today? Remember His goodness to you in times gone by \u2013 even yesterday! Think of all you can be grateful for, and take that gratitude into Your prayer closet. It will build your faith as you wait on God for the miracle you need today.<\/p>\n

Make a list in your journal of what God has done for you recently. Has He provided for you? Has He given you valuable friendships? Has He used you to share His love with someone in need? Has He encouraged your heart? Has He healed you? Has He helped you forgive those who have betrayed you?<\/p>\n

In spite of really tough times, we can always see His loving hand at work. Even in traumatic times, when things happen that were certainly not His design nor His will, we can see His heart of love in operation, smoothing out the rough terrain and calling us to walk in deeper intimacy with Him.<\/p>\n

Are you desperate for an answer to your prayers today? Pray this plain and simple prayer with us, a prayer of thanks and petition.<\/p>\n

Lord,<\/em><\/p>\n

You have been good to me. You have been faithful to Your Word and true to Your promises. I have taken time to recall Your blessings in my life, and I want to thank You for them, one by one\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Pondering Your goodness in my life, Lord, helps me remember that You will not forsake me now. This mountain I\u2019m facing today isn\u2019t too big for You. While it might be bigger than any I\u2019ve faced before, it\u2019s nothing in comparison to Your great power and Your great love.<\/em><\/p>\n

Remind me how to access Your great love and power, Lord. Help me to rejoice in this trial until it is a thing of my distant past, a little blip on my timeline. Today it feels overwhelming and all-consuming. Help me to remember Your overwhelming love and all-consuming power!<\/em><\/p>\n

Thank You that I can do all things through Christ and the power He gives me! Remind me of Your promises today; they are true and applicable to me. I am not an exception, I am not exempt from Your benefits. In faith, I grab ahold of the specific Scriptural promise that I need to\u00a0make it through this day in faith. Lead me to just the right one, and I will write it on the palm of my hand so I don\u2019t forget.<\/em><\/p>\n

And God, I lay before You this desperate need. You are well aware of it. I place it in Your loving and capable hands. I refuse to worry or fret today. I choose to believe that You are able and willing to meet me at this point of need. I fully expect to see Your hand at work very soon, bringing to a conclusion this challenging chapter in my life.<\/em><\/p>\n

Thank You for being my Father.<\/em><\/p>\n

In Jesus\u2019 Name<\/em>
\nAmen<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photo credit:\u00a0Foter.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I cried out to him for help, praising him as I spoke\u2026 (Psalm 66:17) Don\u2019t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. (Philippians 4:6) When we pray out of desperation, we often forget an important ingredient: that of thanksgiving. Without it, we…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":478,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,15,7,4,25,3,1],"tags":[2150,354,148,1097,2156,147],"class_list":["post-3968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-bible-prayer","category-daily-prayer","category-god","category-jesus","category-prayer","category-uncategorized","tag-a-prayer-for-challenging-circumstances","tag-answered-prayer-2","tag-gratitude","tag-miracles","tag-praying-in-faith","tag-thanksgiving"],"yoast_head":"\nGratitude is the Secret to Effective Prayer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/2017\/07\/gratitude-secret-effective-prayer.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gratitude is the Secret to Effective Prayer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I cried out to him for help, praising him as I spoke\u2026 (Psalm 66:17) Don\u2019t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. 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