Listen to the testimonies of those responding generously. follow your soul’s yearning to come home to God’s grace and generosity. Let gratitude show you the way.”

[From Let Gratitude Show You the Way: A 21-Day Devotional Guide, Herald House, 2012]

Gratitude is more than being polite and remembering to say thank you. At its most basic form gratitude is a feeling we experience. When we receive a gift, we experience gratitude, we feel thankful, we feel grateful. However, gratitude is not just something that we experience and feel; it’s also something we practice, live, and do. It’s a noun and a verb, a feeling and a choice, an emotion and an action, something we experience and something we express.

Gratitude is also a spiritual discipline, something we can cultivate and grow with practice. It’s a spiritual disposition, a virtue, a way of seeing and being in the world. It’s a condition of the heart that recognizes that all our blessings have been received and not earned. Living from a place of abundance reminds us that everything we have is a gift, a gift of grace that is freely given by a loving and generous God.

Gratitude shows us the way because it acknowledges that God gave first and that we are the recipients of God’s lavish grace every day. That’s why when we read about generosity in the scriptures, it always starts with God’s generosity toward us. So, when we are generous, we’re not giving in order to receive; we’re giving because we’ve already received.

Our generosity is a response of gratitude to grace, not for grace. When we fully embrace this, our generosity will develop naturally and joyfully.

Prayer Phrase

“For everything created by God is good” (1 Timothy 4:4).

Spiritual Practice

Joy of Gratitude

Stand, if possible, with arms outstretched. Imagine God filling your arms with all that you have: family, friends, and possessions. Hold out your arms until they feel tired. Now, bring your arms across your body. Place your hand over your heart and thank God for the abundance that fills your life. Sit for a time aware of that abundance. Then ask God to help you open your heart in gratitude and share freely with others.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.