Prayer is a State of Continual Gratitude

When you go to bed with a contented mind, recall the blessings and generous providence of God; be filled with holy thoughts and great joy. Then, while your body sleeps, your soul will keep watch; the closing of your eyes will bring you a true vision of God; your silence will be pregnant with sanctity, and in your sleep you will continue to glorify the God of all with the full strength of your soul. —St. Anthony the Great

The Challenge of Gratitude

These words by St. Anthony give us a tremendous challenge. Each night going to bed with a contented mind, recalling the blessings and generous providence of our loving Lord is a wonderful exercise to practice. We can do it when we look with 20/20 vision for the blessings, small or large as they may be.

St. Anthony stresses, "when you go to bed with a contented mind..." Therefore, we need to lay our troubles, stress, and anxieties at the foot of the Lord's life-giving cross, and work towards falling asleep with a "contented mind," free of life's worries or troubles. As we say in the Divine Liturgy's Great Entrance: "Let us lay aside all our earthly cares that we may receive the King of all!"

As Orthodox Christians we are invited to "recall the blessings and the generous providence of God" each and every day. Yet I hear stories of young and old who are having difficulty sleeping. Many tell me they toss and turn in bed entertaining unwanted thoughts that keep them up at night. So often, we allow our minds and hearts to wander consumed with our "to do lists," our "what if's?" "why me's?" and thoughts that bother us for hours causing restless sleep.

The Path to Freedom

I am reminded of the wise words of Mother Ines, "If you have a thought that bothers you for more than an hour, you need to confess it." Indeed, these thoughts enter our minds—festering, sinking into our hearts and souls.

It is through the Holy Sacrament of Confession and through sincere repentance that we can be freed. It is also in partaking of the Holy Eucharist that we meet our loving Lord, the healer of all. Before receiving communion we make an active decision to seek peace, forgiveness and love with all who surround us. We must also make a conscious decision for thankfulness and "recalling the blessings and generous providence of God."

Our Personal Universe of Thanks

We have things both immeasurable and personal to be thankful for not only during this season, but at the end of each and every day. We have the incredible realization that God created this vast physical universe so that each one of us could live and breathe, surrounded by a community of love.

We also have the equally incredible realization that the same tremendous power of God that created a universe so large that we cannot fully understand, is also available to each one of us—to heal the broken parts of ourselves, and the broken parts of our relationships with each other. That immense, universal love is also an intensely personal and human love, which comes from our Lord Jesus Christ who wishes to have a relationship of mutual love and understanding with each one of us.

Becoming Truly Human

St. John Kronstadt says, "prayer is a state of continual gratitude. If I do not feel a sense of joy in God's creation, if I forget to offer the world back to God with thankfulness, I have advanced very little upon the Way. I have not yet learnt to be truly human. For it is only through thanksgiving that I can become myself."

Joyful thanksgiving is a skillful art that we must all thirst for. May we become thanksgiving artists, striving to encourage and support each other as we grow closer to God and one another. Whatever you do, do it in the name of Jesus giving thanks to God!

When we say "Thanks for everything" to God, it is not just a nice little phrase. Let us really mean it in our hearts and recognize that everything comes from God.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Especially during these Holy Days of Lent, let's begin each morning with gratitude! We can open the eyes of our heart to experience that amazing gift of grace and life with Christ.

Enjoy these prayers of thanksgiving found in the Akathist of Thanksgiving:

O Lord, how lovely it is to be Your guest. Breeze full of scents; mountains reaching to the skies; waters like boundless mirrors, reflecting the sun's golden rays and the scudding clouds. All nature murmurs mysteriously, breathing the depth of tenderness. Birds and beasts of the forest bear the imprint of Your love. Blessed art thou, mother earth, in your fleeting loveliness, which wakens our yearning for happiness that will last forever, in the land where, amid beauty that grows not old, the cry rings out: Alleluia!

Thou hast brought me into life as into an enchanted paradise. We have seen the sky like a chalice of deepest blue, where in the azure heights the birds are singing. We have listened to the soothing murmur of the forest and the melodious music of the streams. We have tasted fruit of fine flavor and the sweet-scented honey. We can live very well on Your earth. It is a pleasure to be Your guest.

Glory to You for the Feast Day of life. Glory to You for the perfume of lilies and roses. Glory to You for each different taste of berry and fruit. Glory to You for the sparkling silver of early morning dew. Glory to You for the joy of dawn's awakening. Glory to You for the new life each day brings. Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age!

+Fr. Tom