10 Days of Prayer | Day 1

Make your work pleasant with songs of praise. If you would have a clean record in the books of heaven, never fret or scold. Let your daily prayer be, “Lord, teach me to do my best. Teach me how to do better work. Give me energy and cheerfulness.” . . . Bring Christ into all that you do. Then your lives will be filled with brightness and thanksgiving. . . . Let us do our best, moving forward cheerfully in the service of the Lord, with our hearts filled with His joy. (Child Guidance, p. 148)

As you pour out your thank offering, God is glorified, and He gives you more. As you pour out thanksgiving He gives you more joy. We learn to praise God from whom all blessings flow. Shall we not begin right here to turn over the page and forget our murmurings and complainings and faultfinding, and educate the tongue to courteous words, and loving words, and sympathetic words, and tender kindness for one another of His children? (Reflecting Christ, p. 285)

As followers of Christ we should make our words such as to be a help and an encouragement to one another in the Christian life. Far more than we do, we need to speak of the precious chapters in our experience. We should speak of the mercy and loving-kindness of God, of the matchless depths of the Savior’s love. Our words should be words of praise and thanksgiving. If the mind and heart are full of the love of God, this will be revealed in the conversation. It will not be a difficult matter to impart that which enters into our spiritual life. Great thoughts, noble aspirations, clear perceptions of truth, unselfish purposes, yearnings for piety and holiness, will bear fruit in words that reveal the character of the heart treasure. When Christ is thus revealed in our speech, it will have power in winning souls to Him. (To Be Like Jesus, p. 95)

If we truly love Christ, we shall glorify Him by our words. Unbelievers are often convicted as they listen to pure words of praise and gratitude to God. (The Review and Herald, Jan. 25, 1898)

To praise God in fullness and sincerity of heart is as much a duty as is prayer. We are to show to the world and to all the heavenly intelligences that we appreciate the wonderful love of God for fallen humanity and that we are expecting larger and yet larger blessings from His infinite fullness. Far more than we do, we need to speak of the precious chapters in our experience. After a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit, our joy in the Lord and our efficiency in His service would be greatly increased by recounting His goodness and His wonderful works in behalf of His children. (Christ Object Lessons, pp. 299, 300)

The Lord Jesus is our strength and happiness, the great storehouse from which, on every occasion, men may draw strength. As we study Him, talk of Him, become more and more able to behold Him—as we avail ourselves of His grace and receive the blessings He proffers us, we have something with which to help others. Filled with gratitude, we communicate to others the blessings that have been freely given us. Thus receiving and imparting, we grow in grace; and a rich current of praise and gratitude constantly flows from our lips; the sweet spirit of Jesus kindles thanksgiving in our hearts, and our souls are uplifted with a sense of security. The unfailing, inexhaustible righteousness of Christ becomes our righteousness by faith.

Let the fresh blessings of each new day awaken praise in our hearts for these tokens of His loving care.

When you open your eyes in the morning, thank God that He has kept you through the night. Thank Him for His peace in your heart. Morning, noon, and night let gratitude as a sweet perfume ascend to heaven. . . . (My Life Today, p. 171)

Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. (Ps. 150:1, 2)

You can be just what Christ said His disciples should be—“the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). You should diffuse that light, hope, and faith to others. You are not to go groaning your way onward in His service, as though He were a hard taskmaster, laying upon you burdens that you cannot carry. This is not the case. He wants you to be filled with joy, to be filled with the blessing of God, to know the length and breadth and height and depth of the love of God, which passeth knowledge. When His name is mentioned He wants it to strike the keynote, and there will be a response in your hearts. Then you can offer up thanksgiving and glory and honor and praise to Him that sitteth on the throne and to the Lamb. (Faith and Works, p. 78)