One Word
This winter on The Daily Pattern we’re in a series called One Word. Each day we take one word – a feeling or circumstance – and bring a word from God to it. Let the Word of God speak to your life.
Invocation
Make the sign of the cross, and say,
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Invitation Prayer
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matt. 5:5) O Lord, I am lowly and humble. You alone are my inheritance. Amen.
Word: Colossians 3:16
“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”
Meditation
Gratitude by Anna Jacob
Have you made a list yet? A list of gratitude. Was it on your birthday? During Thanksgiving? Do you use it as a ritual to start the new year? Or maybe you have a spread in your bullet journal where you can track it daily.
Daily gratitude.
Some days are easier than others to make that list. Some days it is easier to make a different kind of list. A list of all the things you do not have. A list of the things you want. A list of the things you feel you need. That list can be long. And it rarely helps us feel grateful.
Un-gratitude.
It makes us needy. It makes us whiny. The sound of the unsatisfied child crying out for more food, a new toy, something else to do.
So how do we get back there? Back to daily gratitude.
Gratitude. Stretch it out and it almost sounds like great-attitude.
In Colossians 3:16, Paul writes to the church in Colossae, “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”
And that is what gratitude should be about. Not a list. But an attitude of our heart. A new attitude. One that can uplift us. That calls out to God, Hallelujah! An attitude focused not on our wants, but on those many things God has (and will) continue to provide for us.
The prayer below was inspired by Brandon Lake’s song “Gratitude.” If you are able, take a moment and listen to it today. This song is a great expression of this word. Of the moment when we are deeply grateful, realizing the overwhelming truth of what God has done for us, through Jesus, his son. A heart full of gratitude.
Lord, today and every day, I want to praise you. To show you the gratitude of my heart. It may not be much, but for you, I give you the singing of my heart. Hallelujah. Amen.
Prayer for Family
· For my immediate family (parents, spouse, siblings).
· For extended family (cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents)
· For close friends that are as family to me.
· For those who don’t have families, or whose families are broken.
· For forgiveness and reconciliation where there is division in my family.
· For provision where there is need in my family.
· For God to be the foundation, and the cross the center of my family.
· For a generation yet unborn, future members of our family.
Closing Prayer
O Lord and King, your Kingdom comes even without our prayer. But we pray that it would also come among us. We are desperate for your reign and rule, for all we see is rebellion. Come into my heart, my home, my family, my work, my church, my community. Rule with justice and with mercy. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.