A life attuned to gratitude focuses our prayers. In many a hospital room, my prayers have wandered from the person in the bed to prayers for the people in the room next door, at work in the building and waiting in the hallways. Being grateful for God’s faithfulness reminds us of how the Spirit both guides and receives our prayers.
The Holy Spirit expands our thankful hearts to broader and deeper prayer lives. This growth opens us to want to learn more about people who differ from us in many ways. As we meet them, listen to them and pray with and for them, it becomes difficult to harm, exclude or hate them. We grow into the people God has made and baptized us to be as we learn to live in gratitude with everyone in our community.
This excerpt is from “A Future Shaped by Gratitude” by Julia Seymour in the November 2020 Gather Magazine.
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