Something we always do as a family is pray before bedtime. Sometimes Asher repeats what we pray, as we teach him how to pray. One time he decided to pray all by himself—”Thank you for Grandma, thank you for Mummy, thank you for Daddy, thank you for Eva Joy, thank you for pasta, thank you for outside…” He kept listing things that he was thankful for. The following day, I was praying with him before lunch, and he again prayed on his own, saying “thank you for bread, thank you for apples, thank you for crumbs.”
I love that Asher is learning to have a grateful heart by thanking God for even the littlest things. I’ve written about the importance of being thankful before. It keeps us from having a complaining heart. It helps us to find joy in the mundane and the hard. I find it helps turn a bad attitude around. The Bible commands us to be thankful on numerous occasions.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
Sing to him; sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works! 1 Chronicles 16:8-9Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures for ever! 1 Chronicles 16:34
It might seem silly to thank God for little things like crumbs, but He wants to come to us like little children. Innocent, and willing to come to Him for anything. Even just to be thankful for crumbs.
