2 Prayers of Appreciation to God That Show Your Thanks

This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "Seeking Wisdom" by Julia Cameron. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.

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How can you show gratitude to God? What are prayers of appreciation to God?

Julia Cameron says that praying can help you harness God’s creative energy. Her book Seeking Wisdom recommends reciting prayers of appreciation to claim positivity and goodwill.

Read more to learn two prayers of appreciation to God that you can recite.

1. Appreciating Miraculous Events

Cameron says that one prayer of appreciation to God is thanking God for miraculous events—experiences that teach you an invaluable lesson or change how you see the world. While it might be easier to identify positive events that have helped you grow, Cameron notes that miraculous events can be tragedies sometimes as well.

She elaborates that tragic events often represent significant milestones in our lives. For example, many people have had life-changing epiphanies after traumatic events like losing a loved one, going through a breakup, or becoming seriously ill. Cameron explains that even when we struggle, God guides to help us in the right direction. Cameron recommends writing about an experience that hurt you—what happened, how did you feel, what did you learn from this experience, how did God help or support you, and what can you be grateful for?

Stoic Problem-Solving

Cameron explains that appreciating miraculous events—good and bad—will help you uncover the lessons and inspirations sent by God. However, when a traumatic event happens, it can be hard to immediately look for the positive side of things. Luckily, in The Obstacle Is the Way, Ryan Holiday explains that the Ancient Greek Stoics’ problem-solving mindset can help you see the positive side of any situation while avoiding the stress and anxiety that come with seemingly “bad” experiences—ultimately allowing you to uncover God’s guidance as the event unfolds and helping you better understand God’s will.

We can condense Holiday’s perspective on the Stoic problem-solving worldview into two basic truths: (1) no event is inherently good or bad, and (2) you can choose to see every problem as an opportunity. He elaborates that if you interpret all events neutrally, you’ll avoid the anxiety and negative emotions that “bad” situations tend to bring. Then, the absence of negative emotions will give you a higher capability to learn from and overcome obstacles. If you’re able to change your mindset to integrate these two truths, you’ll have a clearer perception of God’s gifts and guidance when trying events occur.

2. Appreciating Experiences of Serendipity

Another prayer of appreciation to God is thanking God for experiences of serendipity—when things in your life seem to randomly fall perfectly into place. For example, imagine you decide that you want to learn to sing but can’t find an available teacher in town. The next day at the grocery store, you reach for the same carton of milk as a stranger who you learn is a singing instructor, and she invites you to her last open lesson. Cameron says that these events are acts of God—God’s always listening and will send you exactly what you need at the right time.

(Shortform note: In The Road Less Traveled, M. Scott Peck echoes Cameron’s point that acknowledging moments of synchronicity and serendipity is key to finding grace, or in other words, recognizing God’s gifts. Unlike Cameron, he adds that dreams can also be serendipitous gifts from God—sometimes we may receive warnings, guidance, or confirmations in dreams that we find to be accurate and helpful in the waking world. Further, if you ever find yourself doubting God’s presence, Peck says that you can use these dreams as evidence that God is always watching and helping.)

2 Prayers of Appreciation to God That Show Your Thanks