Do not be anxious about anything—but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6, TLV

An Attitude of Gratitude.    I have to laugh. Every time I think of this phrase, I think of our former associate rabbi from Philadelphia. He would say with that Philly accent, “An a-ti-tude of gra-ti-tude.”

As we align our hearts to the move of God in 2025, prayer becomes a vital component to that alignment. I love the book of Philippians. There are a lot of quotables nestled within those few chapters. Today’s verse is one of those memorable ones.

Prayer

Yeshua taught us to begin our prayers to His Father with praise and gratitude.

“Therefore, pray in this way:

‘Our Father in heaven,
sanctified be Your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:8-10, TLV

Gratitude is actually part of our core. Being thankful begins with our taking the first crying breath when we were born and continues to our first spiritual breath (also most likely crying) when we were born again. That second birth is only possible because of Jesus’s last shuddered breath on the cross — for our sins.

Rejoice in the Lord always—again I will say, rejoice! (vs. 4, TLV)

Rejoice? Always? Is that even possible? Praise, thanksgiving, and joy are all a choice. Even though at our core we are grateful, sometimes there are burdens covering our core. Illness, grief, money problems, family problems, disappointments. It’s too easy to horde those burdens and forget that our very hearts were made for worshipping God.

So how do we “get to that place” of praise, thanksgiving, and joy? Perhaps we can shove the burdens aside and thank the LORD. Begin simply with the fact that we woke up this morning and breathing.

This is the day that ADONAI [the LORD] has made!
Let us rejoice and be glad in it! Psalm 118:24, TLV

That we took our first spiritual breath because our Father sent His Son.

Yeshua [Jesus] answered him, “Amen, amen I tell you, unless one is born [again], he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3, TLV

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16, TLV

Then, keep going. Remember all He has done for us. Those burdens? Yes, they’re there, but the load is no longer who we are, they are the battles we face with the Creator of the Universe and His Son who sacrificed His life for us.

I begin my day in prayer before I get out of bed. Before my mind kicks in—with whatever burdens crowding my previous day and will inevitably try to carry over to today — I pray. Beginning with, “Our Father” and ending with “This is the day that You have made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.” Everything else in between is between us and Him.

Halleluyah!

Is the joy bubbling up? Yes? Then with thanksgiving take those burdens and lay them before our Father. Who knows what wonders we will experience!

Think More About

How do you adjust your attitude to one of gratitude?

Until tomorrow, may our attitude be one of gratitude.

Praying for Israel

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem—
“May those who love you be at peace!
May there be shalom within your walls—
quietness within your palaces.”
For the sake of my brothers and friends,
I now say: “Shalom be within you.”
For the sake of the House of ADONAI our God,
I will seek your good.” Psalm 122:6-9, TLV

An important part of our daily prayer life is to pray for Israel. Especially, now. Shall we pray this together? Amen. Shabbat Shalom and God bless.