Attitude of Gratitude

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” PHILIPPIANS 4:6 (NIV)

The wonderful thing about gratitude is that it sets us up for a shift in perspective. No matter how difficult, nerve-wracking, angry, or disappointed we might be during certain situations we find ourselves in, the act of thanking God repositions us to see the best in everything.

Don’t get me wrong — it is certainly good to be honest with God, telling Him every doubt, guilty feeling, jealous thought, angry motive, and so on. But the speed of our triumph in life accelerates when we choose to overcome every negativity we have with the values, thoughts, and promises related to God’s Kingdom.

You see, we are told by Scripture to “enter His [God’s] presence with thanksgiving” (Psalm 95:2, CSB). When we thank the Lord, especially in our prayers and petitions, we invite God’s presence to invade and become greater than our anxiety, worry, and negativity.

If our prayers are full of doubt, anxiety, anger, shame, and other negative pronouncements, we are forgetting who we really are. Remember: We are overcomers (Romans 8:37) and we have the mind of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 2:16). Gratitude is a powerful weapon to bring Heaven to earth.

Think of ten things you are grateful for. If your life is full of negativity, list down the positive opposites of your emotions and declare the reality of Heaven over your life.

This is an entry written by Janina Rivera from Dawns: A Weekly Devotional for Self-Care & Spiritual Growth. This book is now available at OMF Lit and Passages Bookshops and our online store, shop.omflit.com for P350.

About the book:

Many times a woman’s path is dimmed by heartbreak, loneliness, pain, self-doubt, and suffering. Where could she turn to find light?

This weekly devotional for women offers words of friendship, grace, joy, peace, and love. Written by three authors — Isa Garcia, Janina Rivera, and Ida Torres — these pages tackle women’s journey of faith, self-care, and spiritual growth.

Read the entry for the week...
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And remember, just when everything looks at its darkest,
soon will break a new dawn.