I consider the events currently going on around me and thank God for the specific ways He has helped and is helping. Also, I thank Him for His promises, especially the promise that His mercies are new every morning.

 

I’m not a morning person, so designating the first half hour or so of the day in a time of gratitude is incredibly helpful, especially when I wake up too early and in a grumpy mood.

 

My Australian Cattle dog Sally knows when I first awake and comes over to my side of the bed. It’s almost as if she can hear my eyelids open. I can try to pretend that I’m still asleep, but I feel her sweet brown eyes staring at me.

 

Her urgent expression looks as if she is certain a herd of cattle has magically appeared on our corner lot in suburban Nashville. She requires me to get out of my warm, cozy bed to open the back door so she can herd the imaginary cattle to another part of the yard. So, I peel back the covers and get out of bed to let her and her packmates, Chocolate Lab Abby, and black cat Maddy outside and begin my day.

 

Instead of feeling like Miss Cranky Pants, I smile at my fur-pals frolicking around our yard, chasing squirrels, and greeting neighborhood dogs and their owners as they pass our home on their morning walks. I am thankful for them. More prayers of gratitude.

 

Over the past month, my church has been teaching on prayer, focusing on different aspects of prayer as seen in the Bible.  The teachings focused on prayer as an inheritance, incense, intimacy, and an invitation to action.

 

I cherished learning more about the attributes of prayer. Here are some points that I found impactful that I want to share with you and remind me for future reference:

• Praying in Jesus’s name is asking on His authority

• Draw near to God in prayer with confidence and boldness because of Jesus’s saving grace (see Hebrews 10:19-20)

• Prayer is incense, rising to God as worship

• Prayer is drawing near to God where He promised to draw near to us (see James 4:8)

• We can be transparent to God, He knows all

• We can cry out to Him for anything – He is our Father, and we are His children

• The prayers of a righteous person are powerful (see James 5:13-18, it’s so good!)

 

I heard stories about powerful prayers in the bible that changed difficult scenarios, such as Elijah praying for rain to stop and start up again in I Kings 18. Also, the prophet Elisha prayed for his servant's eyes to be opened to see God’s spiritual army protecting them when he was frightened.

 

There’s still so much more to learn about prayer. I am amazed at its power and how talking with God is needed, and it changes me.

 

I love that I can go to God in prayer anytime, in any posture, and He hears me and sometimes speaks to me, especially in times of great need. That loving relationship with the Creator of the universe means everything to me.

 

I thank my Father in Heaven for the gift of prayer. It will always be my favorite gift, my special Christmas gift.

 

A very Merry Christmas to you and yours!

 

Angela Dolbear is the author of contemporary Christian novels, such as THE GARDEN KEY Series and THE TORMENTOR’S TALE, as well as many short stories. Her novels are available on Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook formats. Angela writes real, relatable, and reverent fiction. She loves reading, writing prose, and writing and recording music with her husband Tim in their studio in Nashville, TN—listen to her new album STORMS on your favorite music streaming service.  Please drop by and sign up for news, read new stories, and hear new original music at http://www.angeladolbear.com/subscribe.htm. Blessings to you!