Reflection 136: The Power of a Grateful Heart

If you were to examine the content of your prayer life over the past month, what would you see? Hopefully there would be many moments of surrender, intercession, praise and adoration. And hopefully there were also many moments in which your prayer consisted of deep thanksgiving to God. Being grateful, truly grateful, and expressing that gratitude in prayer is powerful. We have so much to be grateful for and yet, so often, we become more focused in on our problems than on the countless blessings God has bestowed upon us. Even in the midst of life’s darkest hour, there is much that a holy soul can find to be grateful for. Offering prayers of gratitude to God, with much sincerity, has the potential to lift our spirits to the heights of authentic spiritual joy (See Diary #675).

What are you grateful for? Better put, in what ways has God blessed you in abundance? If you are not immediately aware of your blessings from God, that is a good sign that you may need to spend more time “counting your blessings.” It’s good to keep our eyes on the innumerable blessings God has bestowed upon us, to see them, name them and be joyful in them. The more we see them, the more we grow in gratitude, and the more we grow in gratitude, the more we are blessed. Lord, I thank You with profound gratitude for the countless blessings in my life. Help me to daily become more aware of those blessings and to be grateful for them. Help me to see that life itself is a gift and that You are active in my life day and night. Help me to especially see these blessings when life is hard, or when some burden weighs me down. May I be filled with a grateful heart and always rejoice in Your goodness. Jesus, I trust in You.

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