Prayer Experiment - Thank You Jar

First, we are choosing to concentrate on being grateful for the good things in life. There is an old saying, ‘Count your blessings’, and it is generally true that if we focus on the good things in life rather than the bad, we are likely to be much happier. Focusing on the positive doesn’t mean ignoring the bad things in life - after all, sometimes things are seriously wrong and need to be changed. But even in some of the worst situations there are likely to be some good things that we can give thanks to God for.

Second, when we thank God for all the good things we have received, we are acknowledging that everything comes from God. This means that we recognize God as the Creator, the basic source of everything, from the Big Bang onwards. It also means recognizing that all the good things we have are not ours by right but are gifts. This helps us to develop a healthy sense of ourselves - we are special and loved by God and, at the same time, we are no more special than anyone else. bad, we are likely to be much happier. Focusing on the positive doesn’t mean ignoring the bad things in life - after all, sometimes things are seriously wrong and need to be changed. But even in some of the worst situations there are likely to be some good things that we can give thanks to God for. the good things in life rather than the

Because it means all this, saying thank you to God is an important part of the Christian tradition of prayer, but it can become quite repetitive and boring. We often find that when it comes to saying thank you, our minds go blank! Or we repeat ourselves, saying thank you to God for the same, obvious things every time we pray.

The Experiment

Try making a thank you jar as a way to collect together everything you want to say thank you to God for,  and use it as a resource for prayer.

You will need: a jam jar and some coloured paper.

1. Get an empty, clean jam jar with the label removed, or some other pot or bowl. Cut some paper  (coloured paper works well if you’re using a glass jar) into strips.

2. On each piece of paper, write one thing that you are thankful for, and add the strip to the jar. Keep a spare supply of pieces of paper next to the jar and whenever you think of something new to say thanks for, write it down and add it to the jar.

3. Keep your thank you jar somewhere safe where you will see it regularly – perhaps on your windowsill, bedside table or in a prayer corner with any other prayer items that you may have. When you sit down to pray, take a handful of the contents out and say thank you for those things, and add any new ones that you have thought of that day to the jar. Doing this will mean that you keep some variety in your prayers and also slowly build up a collection of more and more things to be thankful for.