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The concept of faith and prayer
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Recently I saw a cartoon that showed a man out walking a dog. The question above them was “What are you thankful for?” The dog is shown thinking, “Everything”
1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. The Bible tells us to give thanks for all things. But how? When things are going well, it is easy to give thanks. But what about when things seem hard for you and falling apart? Is it possible to give thanks amid troubles?
LISTEN TO THE PSALMIST—BE HONEST WITH THE LORD
You know how it can be. Sometimes things pile up on you. You feel stretched, pressed and tired. Things are not going right. Through gloomy things in the world and the stress, apprehension, in your own life, you find it hard to get out of the funk. You have heard that giving praise and thanks can bring blessings. But how do you do this? Giving thanks is the last thing on your mind.
Look at what the Psalmist does here.
(1) In his funk, he starts by being honest with God.
1 As a hart longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for thee, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me continually, "Where is your God?"
He is saying, “I need you, God! I want a touch of the living God in my life. I am going through a lot. I have lots of tears. It is hard, and even more so because someone is rubbing it in. ‘So where’s your God in all this that you are going through? You say He’s real. Well, where is He?’”
Sometimes your troubles and your distress can feel like a storm cloud over you. Or like an undercurrent that keeps pulling you under. You find yourself ...
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...mething. “Here look at the card that goes with the bouquet.” The note read, “Dear God, I have thanked You a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach me the value of my thorns; teach me the glory of the cross I bear. Show me that I have climbed closer to You along the path of pain. Show me that, through my tears, the colors of Your rainbow look much more brilliant.”
Paul tells us to be 20 always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father. (Ephesians 5)
As Thanksgiving approaches, we are reminded to give thanks in all things, even in the midst of troubles. Psalm 42 gives clues how:
1) Start by being honest with God
2) Give thanks for the times the LORD has blessed you
3) Remember the present power and presence of the LORD
4) Trust and thank the LORD, who brings God’s victory
Gratitude is a gift that the earth urgently needs. Consistent gratitude is a form of recognition of the gift and the giver. Daily gratitude can help eliminate the need for more and practicing more of only what we need. Gratitude leads to a society of contentment rather than one that's always in need of more. We human individuals have conventions for appreciation; we apply them formally to each other. We say thank you. “We understand that receiving a gift
One example would be something as simple as watch t.v and eating dinner, this is a habit we have all done before. In this situation the t.v turns on and you see a video of starving children on your t.v screen, you take a moment of silent. After you pity the children then comes the prayer to God, thanking God that you aren’t in that situation. This is the part when your self-gratitude comes out, instead of trying to go out and help the child or even pray for the child’s well-being, where stuck praying for ourselves. We try to express gratitude by thanking God for the roof over our heads and the foods he’s provided for us today, after all that’s done we get a good feeling in our hearts, and go back to eating dinner and talking about our day while the child is still starving. This is what Barbara was trying to talk about in her article, about how everything’s becoming a “you and you” relationship We as a social aren’t really trying that hard to help other because when we see a bad situation instead of going after it and trying to make it better we tend to focus on the our lives and selfishly bring it back to us and how grateful we are that it wasn’t us, and that isn’t helping anyone get
..., but still pleads for God to "take me in" (ll. 41), and promises to "pay...in happiness" for mercy. Once again, the speaker demonstrates the same desires for physical treasures that he expresses in the first stanza as he asks God to "give mine eye / A peephole there to see bright glory's chases" (ll. 39-40). Even in the God's kingdom, the speaker reveals his humanity as he focuses on ornamentation which starkly contrasts with God's divinity as He has the ability to show love even for sinners.
Do you know that all the struggles you have in life are there for a reason? Do you know that when you think you cannot go on anymore there is God there to pick you up? Be thankful for the struggles you go through because they make you wiser, stronger, and more humble as a person. When you think why me, why did I have to get this? No matter how low you are there is always someone there who can pick you back up on your
During thanksgiving I really like to reflect on everything I have and it’s just a great way to remind myself to be more generous and to hold what and who I love dearly and show them that I care about them. Especially during this time of year when everything can be very stressful with the end of the semester and some mid terms, it gives me a chance to think on the less fortunate who don’t even get an education and would love the chance to get what I have. I’m so thankful for my availability to music and the abundance of caring people in my life with so many opportunities for me right at this moment. I realize that a lot of people take everything they have for granted and honestly everyone does this from time to time, I really like to just bluntly tell people that I care about them and that I’m thankful for them to be in my life at this point, even if it's just to remind myself to be more grateful towards them. Just think about what you have and be grateful for the good
Gratitude is one of the positive emotions shown from research and clinical trials to enhance the general well being of human beings. Gratitude is defined by Emmons (2004) as “a sense of thankfulness and joy in response to receiving a gift, whether the gift be a tangible benefit from a specific other or a moment of peaceful bliss evoked by natural beauty. Emmons and McCullough also see gratitude as an attitude, a habit, a personality trait and a way of handling difficult situations response (Emmons & Stern, 2013).
· Thanks – this is when we say thank you to God and Jesus in prayer
This stanza begins with a realization from the poet: with no religion and no God, what else is there to trust but love? Humans have no God to support themselves, so other humans must do in his stead. With this realization in tow, Arnold elaborates on what life on Earth is like if humans cannot find love and God is not real in lines 31-35. The speaker now wallows in the depression that comes from losing all forms of life support, especially religion, after the tide of faith ebbs from the shoreline. The writer thrusts this harsh reality at the reader: love is only from a dream world that presents a façade of beauty, and only “Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light, / Nor certitude nor peace nor help for pain” (Arnold). Because there is no God to the speaker, life without love is truly “as confusing–and as lethal–as a night battle, fraught with friendly fire” (Ingersoll) This sudden drop from the stability and the salvation a religion provides results in mass confusion, just like a combat scene in the dead of night, with hundreds of soldiers fighting, inevitably killing their own men. The light they lack – like the religion the world has lost – results in sadness, pain, and tremendous loss; for there is no Heaven to look forward
This is showing that the prisoner admits defeat and calls out the name of the god that is assumed he worships, but not in a way that is desperate for help, instead in an accepting way. The prisoner is not the only one suffering from the
So much goes on, on a day to day basis and it might be hard to be consistently thankful. There are some days when it takes more conscious effort than others to not allow the bad to outweigh the good, but it can be done! Daily, I’m grateful for the blessings that the creator has bestowed upon me. Believe in purpose and understand that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes it is best to not think, because overthinking can certainly lead to stress. You can think yourself into a headache, by sitting around and dwelling on the past. Where could that take you? Think about it. If it should have happened, it would have happened! We can’t change the past and it’s so important to get over it and move on with your life. Move up and away from the past, enjoy the now and look forward to tomorrow. Doing these things will help you live a life that is stress free!
Are you constantly struggling with life? If so, you might be focusing on the wrong things. Practicing daily gratitude will help you turn your life around. Want what you have and what you want will come to you!
The fullness I have in my heart, the joy, the peace, the love, it is all about the Grace of God. As I was thinking about Easter and the celebration of the resurrection in the next couple of weeks. It brought me to tears that Jesus died and took the punishment that I deserved and I was reflecting on how the Holy Spirit set me free from the awful bondages I was in. The conclusion I came to is that His Grace is truly amazing! Only a perfect God can give Grace. I believe this revelation of Grace grown deeper roots in me. Because of this course, my husband and I have had some good conversations of how God has set us apart from the world. We should be able to show mercy and pardon to others, because of the price Jesus paid for us and pardoned us of our sins. Mercy and
...s thank you to others makes them incredibly happy. We also must express gratitude for ordinary things such as a beautiful blue sky during the daytime or sparkling stars at night. Get in the habit of finding at least 10 things to be grateful for each day to increase your happiness level.
Instead, let the Holy Spirit fill and control you. Then you will sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, making music to the Lord in your hearts. And you will always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Eph 5:18-19
I am grateful for my life in many ways and for many reason, I was born 5 weeks premature and one of twins. Though my twin did not survive long enough for me to know him it gave me a purpose to try new things. Whenever I am scared of a new experience such as snow-boarding I think about how lucky I am to be alive and well. This thought helps me to spread my wings and embrace the unknown. Even simple things make me feel thankful, such as running in the rain or taking a walk with my dog or just a lazy Sunday afternoon with myself makes me think how great it is to be alive and here. I have always delight in the small moments in life and to think that they could never exist for me is depressing. Furthermore, being able to share my thoughts and feeling with people I love is something that brings me great joy.