Living the Grateful Life Daily

You wake at dawn to a cracked water tap. The electricity went out again at midnight. Your salary, promised three months ago, has not arrived. Your neighbour’s child recovered from malaria; yours suffered the same illness last week. On such a morning, gratitude feels like a luxury you cannot afford.

Yet Paul writes from prison—bound, uncertain of tomorrow, facing possible execution—and commands: “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.”

This is not denial. Paul is not pretending the broken tap does not exist. Rather, he has discovered what the Psalmist knew: “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me” (Psalm 50:23). Gratitude is not about circumstances; it is about alignment. When we praise God despite our situation, we declare that His character is greater than our crisis. We say, by our thanksgiving, that He is worthy regardless of what we see.

Notice Paul’s instruction: bring your requests to God “with thanksgiving.” Not after the answer comes. Not when the tap is fixed or the salary arrives. Now. In this moment. The pathway to peace—the kind that “passeth all understanding”—runs through the gate of gratitude.

Many Nigerian believers carry the weight of unmet needs. Some face rejection, illness, or betrayal. The enemy whispers that God has forgotten you, that your prayers go unanswered. But gratitude silences that lie. When you thank God for His faithfulness in the past, you anchor your faith in His character, not your circumstance. When you praise Him for Jesus, for salvation, for breath itself, you remind your soul who He is.

Consider what you possess that you did not earn: life itself, the blood of Christ, a community of believers. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,” James writes (James 1:17). The cracked tap, the delayed salary—these are not gifts. But the grace that sustains you through them is.

Make gratitude a lifestyle, not a mood. Thank God when you eat, even if the meal is simple. Praise Him for your job, even if the pay is late. Thank Him for your family in their imperfection, for your church in its weakness, for your life in its struggle. This is not pretence; this is faith. This is the worldview of one who has learned that “in every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Today, identify three things—not grand blessings, but ordinary mercies—and thank God audibly. Let someone hear your gratitude. Let your household know that you serve a God worth praising in the dark.