7 Prayers of Thanksgiving for Even the Toughest Days
We awoke to a periwinkle drizzle, tears of firmament clinging to spruce boughs and unadorned oak branches. As I watched the day begin, I focused on prayers of Thanksgiving, fixing my eyes on what was true, lovely, right, pure, and good.
As always, the practice of giving thanks shifted my mood. After spending a few minutes in gratitude, the tone for the day had been set.
7 Prayers of Thanksgiving
Gratitude is powerful for all of us. Let’s take some time to pray with thanksgiving and watch this practice transform our hearts. I also invite you to read to the end of today’s post for a free Advent devotional to help you experience the peace of Christ this December.
7 Prayers of Thanksgiving
1. Thank God for his promise to be with you always.
Deuteronomy 31:6 reminds us that God will never leave us nor abandon us. No matter what you’re facing today, God is with you.
Let’s pray: “Father, thank you for your promise that you will never leave me nor abandon me. Even when life is difficult, you are working for good in my life, and you are with me. Help me grow in trust as I lean into your presence amid life’s storms. Thank you for the promise that you will never leave me.”
2. Thank God for empowering you to do everything unto him, with a grateful heart.
Colossians 3:17 reads, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (ESV).
We are to do everything with grateful hearts. This truth changes the way we approach our daily work and reminds us to keep giving thanks at all times.
Let’s pray: “Dear God, thank you for inviting us to join you in what you are doing in the world around us. Please open our eyes to see where you are working and open our hearts so that we overflow with your compassion for others. Empower us to put our whole hearts into everything we undertake for the glory of your name.”
God, please empower us to put our whole hearts into everything we undertake for the glory of your name. #faith #trust #God Share on X
3. Thank God for carrying your heaviest burdens.
Do you feel anxious or worried today? God wants you to bring your cares and concerns to him. First Peter 5:7 tells us to cast our cares on the Lord, and he will sustain us.
Jesus invited his followers to bring their burdens to him, and he would give them rest (Matthew 11:28-30).
These are invitations for us as well.
Let’s pray: “Father, we thank you for caring about us so deeply. We come to you today and cast our worries and cares on you. Please lift the stress and anxiety we often experience as we turn toward you for comfort. Most of all, thank you for being with us and promising to carry us through life’s troubling times.”
More Prayers of Thanksgiving
4. Thank God for his goodness even in life’s challenging times.
Maybe you’re having a hard time finding something for which to give thanks.
When we cannot find a reason to thank God in difficult circumstances, we can always thank him for being good. God’s love will never leave us, and God is always good.
Let’s pray: “God, we thank you that we can trust you even when we don’t understand your ways. We know that your thoughts and ways are higher than ours. Please help us lift our eyes to you as we press forward in trust. You are good. Thank you that your love can never be taken away from us.”
5. Thank God by naming his blessings.
James 1:17 reads, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
I’ll never forget the first time this verse touched my heart. I realized that every single good thing in my life was from God.
Suddenly, I saw my life in a new light. I realized that everything from sunny days to smiles from strangers were gifts from God. I began keeping track of God’s blessings, and there were too many to count.
Let’s pray: “Dear Lord, thank you for the many blessings in my life. Please forgive me for overlooking these gifts and overlooking your goodness. Today, I thank you for the following blessings:____________(name as many blessings as you can).”
6. Thank God for being your strength and shield.
Do you need God’s strength today?
Do you need protection or refuge in a storm you are facing?
Psalm 28:7 reads, “The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.”
Thank God for being your source of strength and your shield. He wants you to turn to him for safety and provision today.
Let’s pray: “God, thank you for being my source of strength and my shield. You are my refuge in difficult times and my shelter in life’s storms. I press into you today and find rest. Thank you for your presence and your love in my life.”
7. Offer God your whole heart as you praise him with thanksgiving.
I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. Psalm 86:12
God is pleased when we praise him with our whole hearts.
Our praise gives him glory and holds the power to lift our heads in the process.
Let’s pray: “Father God, you are our all-in-all. We praise you with our whole hearts today! We lift up every fiber of our beings and offer thanksgiving to you. May we live to give you glory!”
Calling All Parents and Grandparents!
As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 7, 12, and 16, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or older relatives to read with the children and teens they love. I also recently released a teen devotional called Anchored, designed to help teens learn key biblical narratives and apply them to their lives. You can find these books here or read more below. 
Mother-Daughter Devotionals by a Mom and Daughter
Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section for moms and daughters after each devotion. I wrote this book with the help of our daughter, Bekah, when she was eleven. Find this one-of-a-kind shared devotional here.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, sexuality, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. Bekah and I will help you right here.
Devotions for Boys by Boys
God’s Warrior: Devotions for Boys Who Want to Grow in Courage and Strength helps young boys, ages 5-13, learn what it means to trust God and become strong warriors for his kingdom. Now, more than ever, our world needs men who are willing to boldly carry God’s love into the world. I wrote this boys’ devotional book with our two young sons, Aiden and Caleb, ages six and eleven! You’ll enjoy their honesty as we teach boys how to be strong warriors for the Lord. Find this life-changing devotional book here.
These Books Are Free on Kindle Unlimited: God Wants to Heal, Restore, and Refresh You
God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. He also wants to help you establish a rhythm of meeting with him daily as you trust him with the hard parts of your life. Click here to explore two books that will guide you: Be Still and Trust and Lean Into Grace. They are free on the Kindle Unlimited program and for sale in print.
Download Your Free Devotional Here
Set Free: Let God Do What You Cannot explores ten realms in which most of us need God to work in our lives and bring deliverance. We’ll talk about finding freedom from fear, worry, insecurity, bad habits, emotional pain, and more. This short online devotional will bless you as you let God accomplish what you’ve been unable to achieve through willpower. Get your download for free with promo code GRACE or for a donation of 3.99 here. Thank you. This small gift helps keep this ministry running.
I also offer a library of free online devotional eBooks for free. I invite you to explore the collection right here!
