We are less than a couple weeks away from Thanksgiving 2024. Many of us will gather with families and friends, and we’ll express our thanks to God for relationships, love, food, salvation, etc.
When you pray in your own quiet time, though, think about praying these surprising prayers, too:
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1. “Thank you, God, that I can’t hide from You.” Adam and Eve first tried that trick, and most of us have tried it since then. God loves us too much to let it happen.
2. “Thank you, Lord, for loss.” The Old Testament character Job lost almost everything, but he realized through it that God was still worthy of worship. We can realize the same thing, too
3. “Thank you, Lord, for my thorns in the flesh.” Whatever the thorn was for the apostle Paul, he learned to rejoice with it. When our thorns no longer discourage us, the enemy loses some of his power in our lives.
4. “Thank you, Lord, for taking your time.” We’re impatient, but God is always on time. He knows what timing is best for us.
5. “Thank you, Lord, for ________________, one of the persons in my life I just don’t like.” If it were not for problematic people in our lives, we would miss some opportunities to show what Christian love really is. Plus, Jesus told us to pray for our enemies (Luke 6:27–28).
6. “Thank you, God, for ‘no’ answers to prayer.” While we wrestle with God when He answers “no,” we often learn later that God knew exactly what He was doing with that response. Even when we don’t realize that truth, we can still trust that His answer is the best one.
7. “Thank you, Lord, for discipline.” We may not like discipline, but God chastens us only because He loves us.
8. “Thank you, Lord, for sleepless nights when I sin.” Jonah was able to sleep in a ship when he was fleeing from God — and that’s a dangerous place to be. Sleeplessness that develops out of conviction and guilt is a good thing.
9. “Thank you, God, for valleys.” God sometimes makes Himself most known to us when we find ourselves trying to crawl through the deepest valleys. We cannot descend so deeply into trial that God isn’t there.
10. “Thank you, Lord, for tears.” The psalmist describes God keeping our tears in a bottle (Psa 56:8), thus reminding us that He knows all we face and all we grieve. Indeed, our tears are a voiceless cry to God for His help.
11. “Thank you, Lord, for everything.” That’s what the apostle Paul told us to pray — no matter what the situation is (1 Thess 5:18, Eph 5:20). We can be grateful for everything because we know our sovereign God works through even the toughest times of our lives.
12. “Thank you, God, for forgiving me when I don’t say ‘thanks’ enough.” One day a year for thanksgiving is not enough. Nor are perfunctory grace prayers at a meal enough. Still, we get caught in those patterns — and God forgives us anyway.
Take some time even now to pray one or more of these prayers.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Chuck Lawless, professor and dean at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and originally published by chucklawless.com.
