Raising Prayerful Kids - A 5-Day PlanНамуна

Grateful Game

Do you ever look around and see nothing but messes? The broken things, the to-do lists, the piles of laundry, the sticky handprints? Stopping to praise God doesn’t feel natural in those moments, but when we choose to do it, the effects are so powerful. I was having one of these days recently, so I asked my kids to play the grateful game with me. We praised God for the laundry because it meant all of my kids had enough clothes to wear. We praised him for our messy table where we’ve had so many great heart-to-hearts and where we’ve made new friends. We thanked him for the stained carpet stairs where kids have slid down on cardboard boxes, erupting into fits of laughter. After playing the game, my heart was overflowing with newfound joy and appreciation for my home.

Why is gratitude so important? In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19, Paul tells us that gratitude is not only important, but it’s God’s will for our lives. Have you ever wondered what God wants you to do with your life? He wants you to rejoice always, pray all the time, and give thanks no matter what. This is how we are commanded to live our lives.

In the Bible, we see that thankfulness is such a big deal to Jesus. Luke records an encounter Jesus had that shows the importance of being grateful and the danger of being ungrateful. In the story, there were 10 lepers whom Jesus healed. They all ran away so excited to be free of pain and shame, but only one came back to praise Jesus in a loud voice. This one thankful man actually threw Himself at Jesus’ feet to thank Him.

I think we can learn so much from this grateful guy. First, he came loudly and didn’t care what anyone thought of Him. He was miraculously healed and so he just had to express his thanks! We have also been miraculously healed if we’ve chosen to believe in Jesus...we are forgiven for our sins! We experience full healing by the grace of God and that is something to be thankful for. Second, this man came close to Jesus. We may not be able to physically go to Jesus, but gratitude and thankfulness bring our hearts closer to Jesus.

We can learn a lot from the other nine lepers too. They took God’s blessing and then just ran away with it. I do this all the time. I am so good at asking for what we need, but I often forget to stop and just praise Him. I am working on this alongside my kids and one of the ways we are doing that is by praising him together more often.

One of the biggest misconceptions of prayer is that it is a very sacred, very solemn, quiet, eloquent, solo act. This can absolutely be true, but it doesn’t have to be true! There is a time and a place for serious and focused prayer, but there is also a time and a place for joy! The Grateful Game is the perfect example of that.

You can start playing the Grateful Game with your kids today no matter how old they are. To play, simply take turns shouting out what you want to thank Jesus for and telling Him why you’re thankful. “Thank you, Jesus, for my sister because she is funny.” “Thank you, Jesus, for ice cream. It’s delicious!” “Thank you, Jesus, for our car that brings us safely where we need to go.” You can play the game in alphabetical order to make it a bit more fun and challenging. The possibilities are endless!

Choosing to be thankful brings us closer to Jesus every time. It changes our perspective and keeps our eyes on Him. The more we practice praise as a family, the better able we are to cling to His hope in both the good seasons and the hard seasons, which is exactly what God calls us to do.

Prayer:

Dear God,

You are so good. Open my eyes to your goodness. Help me taste and see your sweetness and be more ever aware of the wonder of you! Change my perspective when I start to complain and grumble and renew my mind. Give me a heart full of gratitude and help me to choose to praise you, even in the storms. Help us to practice praise as a family. Remind us that when we praise you, we become who we were made to be.

Amen.

Questions:

1. How can you start practicing gratitude as a family?
2. How can you practice having a thankful heart even when things are hard? (Thessalonians 5:18)
3. Who do you need to say “Thank you” to today and why? Ask your kids this question too!

This study has been adapted from the book Raising Prayerful Kids. Explore other resources and encouragement at Raisingprayerfulkids.com .