Day 28

Day 28:
Philippians 1:3–11
Thanksgiving and Prayer

3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace,[d] both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

If expressing gratitude is to become a way of life for us, we can’t treat it as an optional exercise. If it never gets beyond our wish list, if it nestles down with all the other nice things we hope to get around to someday, the “someday” of gratitude will never roll around on our calendars.

So I want to encourage you to think of gratitude as being a debt you owe, the same way you’re called upon to pay your monthly bills. Start a list designated as “Gratitude Accounts,” specific listings of individuals to whom you owe a debt of thanks. By doing this, you can make it a point today to make a phone call just to thank a friend for the way she’s shown her concern for you during a difficult time. When the Lord opens a window of opportunity for you to jot a quick thank-you note this evening, you’ll have a ready-made list of people to choose from.

We all have gratitude accounts. There just aren’t many of us who keep them paid up. Make sure you’re becoming the type of person who stays current on your bill.