Catherine Washington, Lay Leader

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24, ESV

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.

23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

Reflection: 

We all know by now the power of gratitude- of truly giving thanks in all circumstances. We have heard the statistics, read the journal articles, listened to the sermons, all about how having a heart of gratitude can change your outlook, your mindset, even your physical health! Gratitude can lead us into a place of rejoicing. It can lead us to find joy even in the smallest gifts of life. But sometimes it’s difficult to find joy in the hustle and bustle of life and especially in a season when it seems like joy is expected.

Most nights, my family gathers for bedtime prayers in one child’s bedroom. A time at the end of the day when we have all mostly run out of steam can quickly turn into a truly sweet moment. We all sing together our rote prayer (“God made the sun and God made the trees….”) and then we take turns talking to God. Some nights, our kids are tired and quick- “I love you God, Amen.” And other nights, especially nights when our son wants to stay up a little later, he can really get going on his prayer. He’ll start by thanking God for our family, then for our neighbors, then for the grass between our houses, and the next thing we know, he has thanked God for every streetlight from home to school! His gratitude often leads us to joy.

I think we’re meant to pray like that, to be thankful like that, because praying like that leads us to experience love. In 1 Thessalonians, Paul implores his reader to “pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances”. Paul knew then what researchers are telling us now- that having an ongoing conversation of gratitude and praise to God is what we are meant to do. It is how God designed us. And when we remember to pray continually and give thanks, then we are inclined to find the things for which to be grateful. The path of love is paved by moments of gratitude. 

Prayer:

Father God, 

Thank you for loving me so well. Help me to be grateful this day. Show me the people and circumstances around me for which I can offer gratitude to you and show me how I can express my thanks to others for what they do. Amen