Thanksgiving

OVERVIEW. We can use the act of giving thanks to the Lord to help mark and remember what He has done for us. In creating physical reminders of his provision, these ebenezers act as reminders to ourselves and others of who God is and what He has done. They are markers of how He has spoken and moved and how we can hope and expect him to move again.

PRACTICE.
In a group: Take time with a group of friends or in a life group to spend time proclaiming what the Lord has done and is doing in your lives. These can be clear acts of involvement or subtle ways you know He was moving. Take time as well to thank Him for the things we can easily take for granted. Remember, all that we have and every good gift is from the Lord.

In prayer: Psalm 100 says that we "enter his courts with thanksgiving," so begin praying by thanking Him. Whatever comes to mind, whatever you appreciate in life, thank God for those gifts. Perhaps, spend a little more time here than you normally would. Let that thanksgiving inform your worship and prayer. (You can see the psalmists do this, as in Psalm 9.)

Tangible practice: Take a note card or a page in journal, to write out the things that God has done for you this year (or you can determine the time frame). Be specific about what He has done and what has changed. Every so often, go back to read those or add new ways that God is working. Each time you read them, thank God again for his work in your life. Or put this chard somewhere visible as a regular reminder of who God is in your life.