“If the only prayer you ever say is thank you, it will be enough.” – Meister Eckhart
I first wrote about this prayer at the beginning of the year and am repeating it here because it is especially appropriate for the Thanksgiving holiday. I use it each morning to get my day off to a great start and for all its simplicity, it’s the most important, most powerful prayer I know.
It’s a simple prayer of thanks and it starts like this:
“I give thanks (to God) for the abundance of good in my life.
I am thankful for….”
You take it from there. Say it before Thanksgiving dinner, and you can show gratitude for the meal you’re about to eat. The family and friends who have gathered around the table. Your health. The roof over your head. Your beloved dog or cat. Anyone and anything that provides you with comfort and/or happiness.
The next step is to send this prayer around the table. Ask each person to chime in and add what they’re thankful for (and if needed give them some hints). You’ll find this simple act of group prayer will lift the spirits of all who are present. My spiritual mentor John Templeton explains the benefits this way:
When we express gratitude for the blessings and abundance present in our lives, we become recipients of a spiritual recharge of energy in our minds, bodies, spirits, and all our activities….all those who come in contact with us also receive benefits from our spiritual joy.
Even after Thanksgiving, the benefits of giving daily thanks and praise are great.
It’s a prayer worth saying each day, because much good comes from this small effort. When you begin giving thanks each morning, you’ll see the benefits almost immediately. Not only do you feel better about yourself, you’re helping to enhance your personal spiritual growth. You find yourself becoming an active participant with a powerful force that is already present in your life.
You’ll also open up your world to additional blessings. Templeton adds that “the more we are grateful for what we have, the more will be given to us.” Because, as with love, the best way to receive a blessing is to give it. And with this simple prayer, we invite goodness into our lives. Again from the writings of Templeton:
Gratitude can be a powerful magnet that attracts increasing blessings to us—love, joy, opportunity, health, friends, material good. As we appreciate every blessing, life will open up to us in new and wondrous ways.
I’m grateful for you, Wake Up Call readers, thank you for reading! I wish you the happiest of Thanksgivings.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In