Prayer: An Attitude of Gratitude

Welcome Graham fam! We are so glad you could watch Sunday morning online with us. Prayer – 2 – An Attitude of Gratitude Introduction:As we talk about aligning our will with God it is very important to understand some things that we are called to do as Christians in order for our wills to actually align with God. We need to be worked on, prepped, and softened for our wills to be aligned with God and a lot of that preparation begins with praise and thanksgiving! Another word that can encompass Praise and Thanksgiving is gratitude. The practice of being grateful for what we have, for acknowledging blessings, and acknowledging what God has done can powerfully change your life and change your relationship with God! There have been a lot of studies of late dealing with gratitude and whether or not practicing gratitude can have an impact on your life. Harvard Health published an article in 2021 talking about the various studies that professors and universities have done around the country on gratitude and found that simply acknowledging good things in your life, thanking others, simply writing things down on paper that were good had a drastic impact on a person’s overall happiness, positively impacted their relationships with others, as well as decreased health issues and visits to the doctor. The Greater Good Magazine published an article in June of 2017 that talked about how mental health organizations are incorporating gratitude into their process of treating patients. It said in the article that, “many studies over the past decade have found that people who consciously count their blessings tend to be happier and less depressed.” Who would have thought that the God of the universe has been teaching his follows to begin all things with praise and thanksgiving. God knew the power that gratitude would have in our lives from the very beginning. He programed that into our beings in the very beginning and it is a very important part of being a follower of Christ. Scripture:– 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 Points:1. Make a List!– Psalm 9:1-22. Express Gratitude first and last!– Psalm 92:1-23. Cling to the Eternal!– Corinthians 15:57 Ending:No one in the world was more afflicted than Job. His oxen and donkeys were stolen, his workers killed. His sheep and shepherds were burned up by fire from heaven. His camels were stolen and servants killed. All his children were killed all at once by wind. His health was taken from him and he suffered greatly. His wife encouraged him to curse God and die. His friends accused him of sin. Even though he was afflicted by all this Job had the incredible attitude of gratitude and proved it by…– Job 1:20-21 Sometimes we just need to remind ourselves and the world where it all came from and who is in control.  If you would like to watch our past services, you can do so here: https://www.gcwesleyan.org/teaching/ Like and subscribe to our new YouTube channel, Graham Chapel Youth! We are producing some funny videos as well as live streaming our Wednesday night youth group: https://is.gd/grahamyouth. If you would like to give to Graham Chapel, you can do so here: https://www.gcwesleyan.org/give/ Graham Chapel Wesleyan Church is in Mayo, SC which is near Cowpens and Chesnee in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. We are affiliated with the Wesleyan denomination and have a diverse congregation. We would love to have you join us on Sunday morning...