A while back, one of my friends came to visit me at market with an interesting challenge. "What if we would spend ten minutes a day praying for God's kingdom to come on earth? I tried to do it and had a hard time spending ten minutes just focused on praying for the Kingdom, so I spent the remaining time praising God."
Needless to say, that comment, which was actually just thrown out there as she breezed by to get some bread, stuck with me. What would happen if we became a praying people and hastened the coming of that New Jerusalem? I figured it was worth a try.:)
Have you every prayed for ten minutes about one topic? Can you be single minded for that long? She wasn't kidding, it's hard! I couldn't do it. So, I started praising God in the time that remained. You know what? It felt good to praise God. To think over those things that make Him omnipotent and all around wonderful. You know what else? It got me thinking "who am I?". Who am I, that the God of the universe would love me. I'm not a good friend to Him. I try to talk to Him a lot, but it's generally about things that I'm petitioning for. And yet, He loves me. And guess what? He loves you too. Praising Him doesn't change who He is, but it can change how we look at Him.
If you were to praise God and think of three attributes of His that really blow you away, what would they be? I know Him to be a just and merciful judge. He is my strong tower when the world's storms batter me. But most of all, He is my Savior. He sees the lovable when I am being anything but lovable. He gently speaks to me when I am unreasonable. When I think about that, I feel humbled.
So, this Thanksgiving, when you are thinking about all your blessings, take a second to praise God for what He is to you.
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