Pray with Thanksgiving

Today’s message was written by my friend, Rev. Roger Kunkel, founder of Dial Hope.

For a moment, consider this brief passage from the New Testament as J.B. Phillips paraphrases Philippians 4:6: “Don’t worry over anything whatsoever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer, and the peace of God, which transcends human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus.”

You know, worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere! It may get you to the hospital, however. For it is estimated that three out of four nervous breakdowns and at least 35 percent of all illnesses begin with worry. Worry results from letting the mind dwell on trouble. It is the human response to a lack of faith.

Feelings have nothing to do with faith. Faith is an act. It is something you do. It is simply responding to the promises of God.

Today’s scripture passage urges you to do something when you are worried: pray with thanksgiving. This causes your mind to dwell on the things that are right and good. Immediately you feel better… because you are turning away from trouble and are looking toward God, your source. This is the prescription for worry which never fails to restore hope and peace of God to your heart and mind.

Let us pray: O God of china-blue skies and dazzling sunrises, we wake to a new day filled with promise and possibility. Lord, you come to us like the silent flight of the eagle, as suddenly as a storm in the Gulf of Mexico, as imperceptibly as the wind charting the course of large sailing ships. As we pray with thanksgiving, help us to share your love with others. If we are carefully calculating the right moment to tell someone, I love you, move us to do that today. Through the amazing grace of the risen Christ. Amen.