Many of us think of thanksgiving as a season, but it is so much more than that! Thanksgiving is something that should live in our hearts year round.
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!” 1 Chronicles 16:34
God gives us so many good gifts, that there are lots of things to pray for every day. I don’t know about your family, but sometimes we tend to get in a rut. There is nothing wrong with praying a prayer of thanks for your family, but there are millions of other things to be thankful for too.
Say a prayer of thanks for your family, but there are millions of other things to be thankful for too. Click To TweetHere are some ideas for incorporating a variety of thanksgiving into your prayer time…
- Collect or take pictures of things that you are thankful for. Not time for taking photos? Use extras you already have on hand. Use the pictures as prayer prompts during your prayer time.
- Go on a prayer walk and thank God for the things around you. You could go from room to room in your house or go outside and thank God for nature.
- Make prayer art. Kids can decorate rocks, sticks, or note cards with drawing of things they are thankful for. Use them during prayer time to jog their memory.
- Choose a theme for the night. For example, one night you might choose to pray a prayer of thanks to God for various family members and friends. Another night you might choose favorite places, favorite toys or favorite foods.
- Play a little game together. Imagine what life would be like if we no longer had the things for which we did not say “thank you.” Take a few minutes to say a prayer of thanks. Then, as a family, brainstorm things that you may have forgotten. Stop and say thanks for those things too!
Don’t Underestimate The Power of Song!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!” Psalm 95:2
Here are a couple thanksgiving inspired songs you can share with your kids to get them in the mood…
Younger kids might like The Butterfly Song.
Older kids might like Thank You by Hillsong.
Don’t Get Discouraged…
Even after working on this for years, my kids often want to rush into prayer with a list of things they would like God to do for them. Isn’t that all of us?! But when we stop to be thankful, it’s hard to feel bad about all the things we don’t have. Keep reminding your children (and yourself) to be thankful. It will become easier. You will find more often than not, you pause to reflect on all you are thankful for.
When we stop to be thankful, it’s hard to feel bad about all the things we don’t have. Click To TweetACTS
Check out these other posts to help you learn to pray ACTS…
Thanksgiving
Do you usually remember to pause and say thanks? How ideas do you have for teaching your children to be thankful?
We do a “Thankful Tree” every Thanksgiving season…basically construction paper cut out tree and leaves and stick it on a featured wall in our home. The kids than choose the “things” they are most thankful for…we get all sorts of ideas from specific people to lip gloss to mother nature! 🙂
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SO important for kids to learn to appreciate ALL of His blessings!
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“But when we stop to be thankful, it’s hard to feel bad about all the things we don’t have.”
So true!! These were great ideas – and not just for kids, but for me, too! I love the idea to do a prayer walk around the house. I’m going to do that right away! I’ve had a bit of a bad attitude about some things lately, and I needed this reminder to focus on all I have to be thankful for. 🙂
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That’s awesome. I love that you implemented this right away. I hope you are feeling better. We have all been there at times.
I really like the pictures idea and the prayer theme idea too! You are so creative!
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We pray before each meal and my older daughter who is 4 thinks that she needs to pray every time. We are slowly teaching her that other people can pray too but we love that she is so interested. We’ll have to try some of these ideas and start incorporating more prayer time throughout the day!
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You are right! Thankfulness is a state of the heart!
I love this post and saving it for my youth group as well as my children. So.many great ways to express gratitude which unfortunately need to be taughthe to some adults too.
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love these ideas, especially the prayer art. Visual aides can really come in handy when we are praying.
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I really like your idea of taking photos of the things we are thankful for. That sounds like a great Thanksgiving project. Last year we did a tree of thanks that sat on our kitchen table. How cool would it be to put the photos on the tree!
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How wonderful! What great memories to be made with these excellent ideas.
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