\u2018With thankful hearts offer up your prayers.\u2019
(Philippians 4:6)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rachel and Jim owned a commercial building, half of which Jim used for his dental practice. For fifteen years they had no difficulty renting out the other half, which provided extra money to pay their bills. Then they lost their tenant, and an estate agent told them, \u2018Forget about advertising for a while \u2013 absolutely nobody is renting.\u2019 To ease her stress, Rachel started swimming laps at the local YMCA pool. One day when she was feeling especially anxious, she decided to pray as she swam, using the alphabet to keep track of the number of laps. She focused on adjectives to describe God, starting with the letter A. \u2018You are Almighty God,\u2019 she prayed during lap one. B. \u2018A benevolent God, a bountiful God,\u2019 she prayed on the next lap. And then C, \u2018You are a caring, creative, can-do God.\u2019 By the time she\u2019d completed twenty-six laps, an hour had passed and her fears were gone. She knew God would provide. A short time later a physical therapist called to say she\u2019d noticed the \u2018For Rent\u2019 sign, and asked to see the office. It was exactly what she wanted, so she and her partner rented the space. Rachel still prays while she\u2019s swimming laps. \u2018After all,\u2019 she says, \u2018I\u2019ve discovered God\u2019s goodness stretches from A to Z.\u2019 Are you worrying about something today? Here\u2019s a better option: \u2018With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel\u2019 (vv. 6-7 CEV).<\/p>\n\n\n\n