Today, in the United States, most of us will be gathering around a table and offering a prayer of gratitude. The two simple words of thank you can do amazing things.
If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.
Meister Eckhart
A prayer of thanks changes us. We can come to God with no agenda and just simply express gratitude. It reminds us of what we do have and humbles us enough to realize we are more dependent than we would like to think.
All of us have wants and needs. On the other hand, if someone only comes to us when they want something, we start to dread the next encounter. None of us like a relationship where the other person is a taker.
Today, let us give thanks. Give thanks in prayer, and also give thanks to those around us. We rely on others much more than we would like to admit. Let us give thanks in prayer and in the words we give to others.
Think about why someone dear to you is so dear. Tell them. If it is too hard, we can just say, “Thank you.” If they ask what for, just tell them that they mean so much to us. A memory of past generosity is good, but not necessary. Just thank someone for the blessing they are. It does our heart, and the heart of the recipient of our gratitude, a good thing.
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[…] I wrote that a prayer of thanks is so powerful. That can be easy when things are going our way. But what about when things are far from ideal? What […]