I realize “how” we show our gratitude can be a personal matter, but permit me to suggest some basic disciplines that can benefit us all.  I hope you find them helpful.

Serve the needy. Benevolence toward others who are struggling in life may not sound like a discipline for prayer, yet when we show compassion we open up new conversations with God.  It is difficult to ignore our blessings when we see the difference our generosity makes in the lives of others.  Our main motivation for giving to others shouldn’t be self-focused, but an act of kindness is a good place to jump-start prayer as celebration.

Take time to enjoy God’s goodness.  Now that my wife and I have planned weddings for both of our children, we know how easy it is to get so wrapped up in the details of an important event we overlook the joy.  We were able to avoid this trap, largely due to the loving support we received from our church family, but it took a conscious effort.  The same thing can happen in almost any area of our lives.  Our seasons of greatest blessing are often the busiest.  It is imperative we create margins in our lives to worship, pray, and as they say, “enjoy the ride.”

Yes, count them.  We can benefit from the simple task of writing down our blessings.  But don’t feel as though you need to create a spreadsheet and spend hours plotting God’s goodness.  A simpler method might be to write down one blessing a day and spend that day thanking God for loving you.  In time the list will grow.