"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointedme to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me tobind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedomfor the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaimthe year of the LORD's favorand the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion — to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair."~fromISAIAH 61 Bible verse for this Blog
APOLOGY to READERS who followed a SEARCH to HERE & didn't find it
On July 18, 2017, I drafted almost 3000 blog posts that I had published since 2008 when I began blogging, rather than edit each one. So if you clicked here from somewhere else and ended up with the post unavailable or error, I am sorry but this is why. It'd be too much work for me to go back and fix them. There's an explanation on7/19/17as I'm still learning.
[This is the 2nd blog post in my series: T.H.A.N.K.S. ...]
Continuing with
Days 11-20
Psalms 107:8-9
T - Thank God for one thing (given) H - Hymn for Him/Song Psalms of Praise A- Adore Him an Attribute of God N - Name of God (El Shaddai, God Almighty) K - Kind Act to do S - Supplication: how He can or has supplied
[Box acronym explained a bit in previous post but]
For today's blog post, I'm hoping to explain more of my acronym. Since the "T" is self- explanatory (because I give one for each day or you can certainly choose one thing of your own), let's start with "H" for a Hymn for Him ... starting out with just a few Hymns and then sharing some links for more. If a Hymn doesn't sound familiar or come to you as you meet with God, then maybe a Song will, but that's also why I opened this up to Psalms of Praise (which means from the book of Psalms in the Bible). As we take time to thank God, it's a way to come into His Presence and honor Him with worship; it's a form of thanks to sing or recite from our hearts or His Word and pray the words back to Him. There is a Hebrew word that includes Thanksgiving Hymns and other names that refer to "thanks" or "thanksgiving" - it's Hodayot.
Lifeway Worship has an album "Top 20 Hymns of Thanksgiving" (available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, etc.) which pretty much covers the ones I know best and seem to be the most familiar. Here are a few:
"Great is Thy Faithfulness"
"All Creatures of our God and King"
"Now Thank We All Our God"
"I Stand Amazed" (How Wonderful)
"We Gather Together"
I'm sure that this helps you start thinking of many hymns/songs; but if not, here are the promised links and of course, there are plenty :
{this would give you one for each of these 30 days of T.H.A.N.K.S and we already did 10 days, so you have plenty to choose}
PSALMS: Included in each day are Scripture(s) verses - many of them are from Psalms. So here is a short list of some powerful thanksgiving praise: Psalm 7:17; Psalm 9:1; Psalm 35:18; Psalm 106:1; Psalm 100:4; Psalm 95:2; and Psalm 107: 8-9 in the image on top.
"A" for the Attributes of God is to let Him know that you are aware of them in Him and how much you Adore Him because of His ... Faithfulness, Holiness, Greatness, Merciful, Just, Unchangeable, Eternal, Wise, Powerful, etc. (many of these are in the Hymns and Songs). In fact A.W. Tozer wrote a book "The Attributes of God"(which is what you get first in a search). I really like this image. Yet as I read through these 17 more carefully, it left me with some questions, even though I know these are characteristics of God, I'm sure there are more.
Perhaps this image will inspire you and you might have some questions too.
"N" stands for choosing one of the many Names that refer to our One God. There are many songs about these also and it just helps to Thank God that HE IS who His Name says He is - like "Jireh"; or the one I gave in the acronym "El Shaddai"; or "Adonai"; "Jehovah Nissi"; "... Shalom" - there are many resources available, even a Bible "Names of God", where the Name is expanded from Yahweh or Jehovah or Lord, God Almighty to an even more specific one.
Here is a good link to help you with both the Names & Attributes: Navigators "Praying the Names and Attributes of God" ... I suggest trying this because it has helped me focus and feel closer to God and truthfully allows me to worship Him with a heart filled much more in gratitude to recognize God as GOD - Father, Son and Holy Spirit through all these many facts, shows me how I truly can trust and believe that He's not only in control, but He's got all this covered & I just really need to thank Him for the Immensity of His aMazing capacities and ways, far beyond my own and even what I might imagine. How can this not increase your awe and respect as you realize and acknowledge by giving Him THANKS!?
I hope that the last two letters ("K" and "S") are not overlooked because this is where you choose to decide how to go beyond yourself and apply with acting in KINDness and asking for God to supply your needs but also the needs of others. I think this just comes naturally from spending time with God and is simple enough to understand without me giving examples. It's letting God know that you intend to show your thankfulness in a tangible way.
I thought it was important for me to explain this acronym format so that the rest of the 20 days of the 30 are possibly more fruitful and challenging by trying this out as an encouragement in your Prayers of Thanks and expanding your communication with God (which is all our prayers really are) but don't forget the listening part or the "pause" throughout your day when God will speak or maybe prompt you with "here's a good time to practice that "K" and show the same Kindness to someone else who needs to be blessed through you" from God. I need this too.
I strongly recommend that if you need more examples of using this Prayer Prompt Acronym that you return to the comments of the first blog post for Days 1-10 from KT (Anonymous) only because Blogger does not allow her to post otherwise; and I have no idea why or how to fix it. Anyways, KT faithfully participated by sharing every single day with the most beautiful prayers which flow from her precious spirit and heart following this T.H.A.N.K.S acronym in each one. I do hope that you go back & pray these (or check 'em out at least) so that her prayers may help you like each one helped me & truly blessed me daily! Great examples that showed me that my acronym does work! So thank you KT, hopefully this encourages others to participate & give this a try too! There is not any set formula to give thanks to God, He just wants to hear from you and this tool of an acronym is only to help you focus on God first in your prayers because He is so worthy & deserving of our thanks for each 'one thing' given & so much more!
NOVEMBER 11 - 20
Day 11 Thank God for Your Future. Jeremiah 29:11, John 10:10, Romans 8:28
Father Almighty, You are Omnipotent, all -powerful! You are Omniscient - all knowing and Omnipresent - all present. Thank You for being available everywhere and at all times. There's a quote currently used that says "I may not know what my future holds, but I know who holds my future." How we thank You for the truth in this and that You do hold our future. Thank You for always working, even when our present circumstances seem hard yet we need to trust that You will work things for our good now and in the uncertainty of the future. Thank You for preparing us for great things to come. I ask for more patience and increase faith when doubt or hopelessness creeps in. I thank You for Your unseen hand. May I give the same encouraging words to someone else facing difficulties. I give You praise with the words of Psalm 121:1-8 and Psalm 18:2 while I sing of Your Strength and trust You as the "Way Maker"! Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come—remind us that You are the Lord of past, present and future, and help us to turn all of those over to You.Thank You that our future is in Your hands and that I can be confident in this assurance.
Day 12 Thank God for Prayer. Psalm 34:15-18, Philippians 4:6, Matthew 7:7-8, Romans 8:26-27
Day 13 Thank God for His Provision. Philippians 4:19, Matthew 19:26, Psalm 34:10, Matthew 6:25-26
Day 14 Thank God for Our Gifts. 1 Peter 4:10, 1 Corinthians 12:4-5, 1 Corinthians 14:26
Day 15 Thank God for Forgiveness. Matthew 6:15, Luke 17:4, Acts 2:38
Day 16 Thank God for Children. Psalm 34:11, Luke 18:15-17, John 1:12, Ephesians 1:5
Day 17 Thank God for Your (True) Identity. John 15:15, Romans 3:22-25, Romans 8:35-37
Day 18 Thank God for the Bible. Psalm 18:30, Psalm 33:4, Psalm 130:5, John 1:1
Day 19 Thank God for His Peace. Isaiah 54:10, John 14:27, Philippians 4:6-7
Day 20 Thank God for Your Freedom. Romans 6:6, Romans 8:1-2, 2 Corinthians 3:17, 2 Corinthians 5:17, James 4:7
... on the YouVersion app of Bible reading plans. However, this past week I had some problems with You Version and I'm unable to sign in there. So I went directly to Sue Boldt's website (blog) and discovered Morning Moments of Prayer, filled with a very grateful heart to God. I'm not sure if Sue plans to share her "Thirty Days...", this devotional there, and her Christmas one, but they are both available to purchase with all proceeds going directly to their ministry of reaching the world for Christ, which means I have found a way to still do this, just not on You Version. However, I will not be sharing Sue's devotional here.
For my blog posts of Gratitude every day in November, I will give a Prayer Prompt to Thank God and some Scriptures. Although every day of the year, our prayers should be filled with THANKS to God, it's extra important this month. I like acronyms, so I came up with one for THANKS. I'm not sure how it'll work or if the format fits you & your style of praying, but I'll share it anyways:
T - Thank God for one thing H - Hymn for Him/Song Psalm of Praise A - Adore Him for an Attribute of God * N - Name of God ** K - Kind Act you do S - Supplication: how He can or has supplied for yours or others needs
The initial THANKS will be for November 1st to the 3rd, then I will repost later on Thursday with the ones for November 4th - November 10th added.{did this 10/31} So all of Days 1-10 are here now.
November 1 will be Day 1 and continue like that with each date as that Day. Each day has the "T" part of the acronym of what to Thank God for ... then the rest is the challenge part for you. I'm hoping that the Scripture readings will inspire and help. For the first 2 days I explain a little more.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (day 2)
NOVEMBER
Day 1 - Thank God for Your Salvation through Jesus Christ
"Thank Him that no
man, no thing, no power in hell can undo what He did on the cross. Thank God Almighty that you have been saved
from the sting of death. Thank Him that you will not be separated from our Lord, for you have been saved by the blood
of The Great I AM. Praise God for the blood of the Lamb! Ask that He would give you boldness to *share your testimony
of salvation with others today, that no one would perish and spend eternity separated from Him."
Psalm 62:6-7, John 1:14, John 3:16, John 6:47, John 10:10, Galatians 2:20, 1 Peter 2:24
In one of the devotionals that I'm reading for this year, I couldn't help myself from editing this again so I could add the prayer right here for today's THANKS {parts in () added by me}:
(for the "N") "Blessed Savior, Thank You for Your glorious gift of Grace! Your Word teaches that by grace I have been saved through faith. And this is not my own doing; it's not a result of my works.(Ephesians 2:8-9) Even the faith I needed to believe in You - to receive salvation - is a gift from You. Through Your finished work on the Cross, I've been given the astonishing blessings of eternal Life. (John 3:16) Help me respond to Your amazing generosity(for the "A") with a grateful heart. I can never thank You too fervently or too frequently for grace.
During this Thanksgiving season, I want to take time to ponder what it means to have all my sins forgiven. I am no longer on a pathway to hell; (Matthew 10:28) my ultimate destination is a new heaven and a new earth. (Revelation 21:1) This guaranteed heavenly inheritance gives me a great reason to rejoice every day of my life.
As I walk with You today, I'll try to thank You often for the matchless gift of grace. I pray that my gratitude for grace may increase my awareness of the many other blessings You provide - making me even more thankful. In Your gracious Name, Jesus" ...
(*for the "K" - share your testimony of salvation with at least one other and perhaps show some grace for the ones who make our lives a bit harder) (for the "S" - clearly we need to pray for the ones that still need the salvation of Jesus Christ; and our own need to be bold in this endeavor more each day and eternally grateful as we live and love as Jesus has shown us)
"Thank God for the precious gift of today, for today is the
day He has made, so let’s rejoice and be glad. Give thanks to Him for each minute He allows breath to fill your lungs.
Ask Him to reveal to you the things in life that you can let go of to allow yourself time for what really matters in life."
Psalm 118:14, Matthew 11:28, 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Day 3 - Thank God for your Friends & that He is your Friend; or ask Him to send someone special as a friend John 15:12-15, Romans 12:10, Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
1 Corinthians 1:4-5
Day 4 Thank God for Power Over The Enemy. "When
our hearts are full of praise, our lives are full of power." Ephesians
6:11-18, 2 Timothy 1:7, James 4:7
Day 5 Thank
God for His Perfect Timing. Romans 8:28, Colossians 3:12
Day 6Thank
God for Your Church. 1 Corinthians 14:26, Titus 1:5–9, Hebrews 10:25
Day 7 Thank
God for His Faithfulness Psalm 36:5, Psalm 86:15, Matthew 19:26
Day 8 Thank
God for Love. Psalm 136, Psalm 107:1, 1 Corinthians 13, John
3:16, 1 John 4:8
Since this is the year of mid-term Elections, I strongly sense an urgency to:
Thank God for our ELECTIONS and those candidates running in the elections as well as all who serve in our government. For God's Protection of every one!
Thank God for the freedom we have to elect our governing officials and that God's authority be over each one, for God's will & plan to prevail for our country; for the good over the evil; for the truth over the lies; for justice for all.
Day 9 Thank
God for Wisdom. Psalm
32:8, Proverbs 4:7
Day 10 Thank God for Annoyances. "Some days it can be hard to feel thankful But no matter the setbacks and aggravations, and no matter how we feel, one
thing remains the same--He is present in the trials we face. Even the smallest of trials do not go unnoticed by Him.
Thank Him for the hard stuff. Thank Him for using these things to strengthen your dependency on Him and your faith in
Him. Pray for trust in Him on the hardest of days and keep praises on your lips." {I've found this keeps us humble and looking to Him}
Isaiah 55: 8-9, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, James 1:2-4
I will need to do a new post for Days 11-20 and then a final post for Days 21-30 because of how long this would be otherwise. Just imagine if I had written more or a Prayer for each one.
* examples: His faithfulness; His Righteousness (image)
** like El Shalom; Savior; Messiah; Redeemer ...
(day 2 example) Creator God, I thank You for this day and every day when I wake because You have made this day as a precious gift so I can rejoice and give praise. I thank You for my very breath each new morning and Your new mercies. Great is Your Faithfulness! Today as I go outside, I will thank You for the beauty in all of nature and replant a new tree to remind me of the need for good Light in my life (Your Son) the sun light that helps us grow and Living Water. Thank You that in Jesus Christ we receive both Light, Living Water and Life. Supply others in need of this fresh outpouring of You through me as I go about my day and share Jesus in a smile or a simple thank you. You made my day, help me do the same for someone else.
<><><>
GIVE THANKS
and
show our
GRATITUDE
for this November to our
God
and His aMazing Grace
Starting our THANKS GIVING and WORSHIP off with one of my favorites
{I kept these Prayer Prompts from a previous year in my Notes but I don't know who to give credit} I thank whoever you are or wherever they came from. No copyright infringement intent.
