Devotion: The Power of Gratitude
My 4-year-old son, Jase, loves to help! He loves to help with the fun, more obvious things like making yummy popcorn on the stove or setting supplies out for a craft he wants us to do together; but he also loves helping with what we often consider the boring, mundane chores.
Jase loves to help me wash the dishes, take out the trash, and even do the laundry. Whenever I need to do laundry, he’ll say, “Oh, Mommy, make sure you wait on me. Can I please help with the laundry?” And my response, of course, is, “Absolutely! I’ll let you help with the laundry,” as if it’s a fun adventure I’m allowing him to join me on!
Not only have I been shocked by his willingness to help, I’ve also been equally amazed by his appreciation for my allowing him to do so. Recently after we finished folding laundry, Jase said, “Mommy, thank you for letting me help you with the laundry. It was so fun!” I couldn’t believe it. In my next breath, I prayed, “Lord, may he always think laundry is fun, so I won’t have to do it anymore!”
Jase’s tendency to thank me for the most bizarre things like “letting him help me with the laundry” reminds me how important it is to cultivate a spirit of gratitude.
When Jase expresses gratitude for being allowed to help with the laundry it communicates to me that he sees this as an opportunity instead of an obligation ‒ that’s the power of gratitude. Gratitude both reveals and determines our attitude.
Gratitude empowers us to embrace all we have with warm, positive regard instead of negatively focusing on our lack. Embracing “all we have” goes far beyond our material possessions. As followers of Jesus, we have freely been given so much that, quite honestly, we don’t even deserve. No place in Scripture describes this more beautifully than Psalm 103:
Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. … The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
‒ Psalm 103:2-6, 8-12, NIV
Like the psalmist, I must remind my soul of all God’s benefits because the cares and tasks of my daily life take over, and I forget. I forget the goodness and kindness of God, His faithfulness and might, and His great love and mercy. Instead, my needs seem so great. I feel that I have so little. I’m overwhelmed by my own brokenness and inability to measure up.
But gratitude reminds me. Gratitude changes my attitude, and as I reflect on all the goodness of God, my heart changes. I’m no longer worried about the things I don’t have; I’m confident in His goodness and faithfulness to provide whatever I need.
Lord, thank You for who You are. Thank You for Your forgiveness, healing, redemption, love, and compassion. Thank You for not treating us as our sins deserve! As we reflect on Your goodness, draw our hearts to those who have not yet experienced Your great love. May we be ever aware and open to extending Your love and mercy to those who are far from You, just as You have extended it to us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
- How have you experienced God’s goodness?
- Who shared the Gospel with you? Is there someone you can express gratitude to this week for helping you in your relationship with God?
- Who in your life also needs the hope of Jesus in their life? How can you be a part of bringing the Gospel to them?
“I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the LORD Most High.”
‒ Psalm 7:17, NIV
Traci Crowder
Mid-South/Great Lakes Field Director
Prepare for Prayer
Reflect on three things that you are grateful for this year. Then take a few minutes to share these in a corporate prayer of thanksgiving. Rejoice in others’ blessings.
Our focus for this month is on the Power of Gratitude.
Read: Psalm 7:17
“I will thank the Lord because he is just; I will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.”
Pray: Dear God, we join with You, Jesus, in prayers of thanksgiving. We are grateful for Your presence with us, and that a holy God can have relationship with us because of Your work on the cross that paid for our debts and resulted in our new life!
Optional: If someone has a song of praise to share with the group, take time for praise and worship.
Thank God:
- that the power of gratitude is a like a worship song to God.
- for His Spirit of thankfulness that releases us into a renewed mindset that can change our way of seeing things.
- that the power of gratitude is living in us through the Holy Spirit, and can transform us into everyday witnesses for His glory.
Pray for Your Group’s Upcoming Outreach Event
Read: Colossians 4:2
“Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.”
Pray: Oh God, You encourage us to ask for many opportunities to share about the mysterious plan concerning Christ, that we might proclaim the Gospel message clearly. We ask that You help us to be aware of the circumstances that You place before us, and to live lives of gratefulness, so that others may see and hear of the goodness of God.
Pray:
- that we would give thanks with grateful hearts for all the outreach events.
- that guests will see and hear the grateful testimonies of our lives as we remember that gratefulness is a powerful witness.
- for God’s Holy-Spirit power to anoint all that is said and done at our outreach event, so that women might be drawn to the irresistible nature of Jesus Christ.
Sharing Your Faith
Read: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
Pray: Oh Lord, there are so many women around us who do not know the gratitude that can come from a heart rescued from darkness to light. We know the world is in favor of gratitude and making “gratitude lists,” but we also know that true joy comes from belonging to You, and being in Your will. We can never stop singing Your praises, Oh God. You are our Lord, our Savior, our everything!
Pray for:
- hearts to see women who are broken and not living in true freedom and gratitude.
- open spirits to allow the power of gratitude to move in and through us.
- the ability to be thankful even when circumstances are not what we hoped for, as we remember that our lives are a testimony, too.
Pray for our Nation and Leaders
Read: Psalm 107: 1-3
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies. For he has gathered the exiles from many lands, from east and west, from north and south.”
Pray: Almighty God, please grant our nation and our leaders spiritual understanding to grow in their knowledge and gratitude of You, for Your faithful love endures forever!
Pray for:
- our nation and world leaders to see God’s glory and honor and worship Him.
- renewal in believers in this country to live joyfully and in gratitude with the joy of their salvation story.
- protection from the evil one who offers counterfeit solutions. Pray that we might be aware of misleading ways our nation and leaders misguide us, and that we may answer the call of gratitude and contentment that God offers us.
Pray for the Stonecroft Family
Read: Colossians 3:15-16
“And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.”
Pray: Father, as a Stonecroft family we ask that You take the lead, and we follow. We want You to rule in our hearts, that we might live at peace with one another, and reveal to a broken world the love of Christ and the power of gratitude.
Pray for:
- a reminder to live in the spirit of thanksgiving as a testimony of our unity and witness.
- God to revive our hearts to live as women who are grateful and powerfully content in Him.
- unity by the power of gratitude among all Stonecroft believers serving joyfully in Christ’s love.
Prayer Points:
- Pray for Whitney Putnam – Ministry Engagement Director
- Pray for my husband, Michael, as he discerns his next steps vocationally. Please pray for clarity, peace, and opportunity!
- Additionally, please pray for the women I am able to come alongside – that they might be filled with hope and peace as we look toward the future of Stonecroft.
- Praise: New friendships and mentors as our family walks through several different valleys. We see God’s provision in His gift of relationships!
- Pray for Jessica Leep Fick – Ministry Engagement Director
- Pray for my husband, Dave, as he works in his new role as an Area Director with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship helping to start new chapters on campuses across Kansas and northeast Missouri.
- Pray also for safe travels and delightful conversations as I meet with volunteers during regional events. Pray for women to catch the rally vision to inspire, equip, and encircle more women through Stonecroft.
- Praise: For a great transition to middle school for my oldest son, Reuben, and to third grade for my younger son, Ozzy. Also, for the stories of incredible volunteers who have faithfully served Jesus for years.
- Pray for Stonecroft leaders such as Stonecroft Regional Administrators, District Consulting Coordinators, Regional Speaker Trainers, Regional Reps, Area Reps, Chairs, Prayer Consultants, and hub leaders as they serve and guide their teams to live in the call of thanksgiving and gratitude as witnesses of God’s love.
- Pray for our international partners that they might be joyfully moved by the power of gratitude to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
- Pray for Friends of Stonecroft – In this month’s Friends of Stonecroft script, we learn about Stonecroft women in Fayetteville, North Carolina, who have a burden for the marginalized in their community. Their Community Outreach Coordinator, Susan Shepard, organizes activities with military women, as well as with women who are battered, trafficked, or those grappling with addiction. At a recent event for women and their children from a shelter for abused women, three children received Christ as their mothers were shown love and value.
Please pray:
- that the women they show love to will receive Jesus and grow in their knowledge of Him.
- that the young children who received Jesus will grow in their commitment to Him.
- that more opportunities will arise in their community so Jesus is made known.
Share Personal Requests
Pray for the power of gratitude to lift up each other in encouragement and strength.
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank You for this prayer time together. We ask You to give us Your power to live with grateful hearts as we worship You, the Holy One, because You have given us Christ, Your only Son. May we feel Your power of thanksgiving ruling in our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.