With a Thankful Heart 

(our theme for November)

Philippians 1:3-6 CEB

I thank my God every time I mention you in my prayers. I’m thankful for all of you every time I pray, and it’s always a prayer full of joy. I’m glad because of the way you have been my partners in the ministry of the gospel from the time you first believed it until now. I’m sure about this: the one who started a good work in you will stay with you to complete the job by the day of Christ Jesus.

When I was younger, a lot of my prayers sounded like Christmas lists or even Amazon shopping lists. “Please give me good grades” or “Help me get that job” or “Deepen my relationship with [insert name of girl].” I included formulaic phrases of thanksgiving because I had been told I “should” do so, but most of the time such phrases were generic, like, ”Thank you for the many blessings you shower upon us.”

But lots of research and counseling testify to the wisdom of practicing gratitude, and the opening verses of Philippians demonstrate it. Different translations have a difference in emphasis in verses 3 and 4. The Common English Bible says, “I thank my God every time I mention you in my prayers. I’m thankful for all of you every time I pray, and it’s always a prayer full of joy.” The New Revised Standard Version renders it, “I thank my God for every remembrance of you, always in every one of my prayers for all of you, praying with joy”—every time I think of you, I thank God for you, and it fills me with joy.

Humans being what we are, I can’t imagine that every time someone thought of me, they would thank God for me, even my wife. I suspect this is something Paul cultivated. And while the Philippians no doubt benefited from it, Paul says that kind of gratitude filled him with joy.

So, let’s pray now.

Father, I started to ask you for something. And I know it would be OK if I did, but you have already given me these words of Paul. So, Father, I just want to say thank you for the preservation of this message I needed to hear today. Thank you for the Grace For All podcast that brought me to it and it to me. And thank you for the one hearing this right now. May each listener know the joy of praying in gratitude. In joy in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Donn King.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. 

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org. 

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.