Rick Warren - Why Gratitude Matters Most in the Darkest Times

You know, Thanksgiving is not an easy holiday for a

lot of people. How do you be thankful when you've

just gotten really bad news? I mean, some people this

week all over the world heard the news the dreaded

word cancer. How do you be thankful at Thanksgiving when

the doctor just told you you have cancer? How do

you be thankful Thanksgiving when you just got laid off?

How do you be thankful Thanksgiving when the person you

love the most just told you I don't love you anymore.

And I'm walking out.

How do you be thankful when you have a chronic

illness that isn't getting any better. How do you be

thankful when your dream has exploded, when an economic tsunami

has wiped out all of your retirement. Well, the Bible

says it like this in Onest Thessalonians, chapter five, verse eighteen,

give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will

for you in Christ Jesus.

Now, the key to that verse is the word in.

It doesn't say for give thanks in all circumstances. It

doesn't say give thanks for all circumstances. There's a lot

of things in life you shouldn't be grateful for. If

somebody gets leukemia. I'm not grateful for that. If a

woman gets raped, I'm not grateful for that. If somebody

is put through the indignity of racial profiling and is

treated unjustly, I'm not grateful for that. We're not to

be grateful for sin.

We're not to be.

Grateful for evil and be grateful for the suffering that

comes as a result of those things that would make

God and make you a masochist. To be thankful for

everything would be masochistic. To be thankful in everything is maturity.

Why because even in the darkest days of your life,

there are always some things you can be grateful for.

And no matter what you're going through, there are five

things you can thank God and express your thanks and

gratitude him for. Number One, I can always thank God

for the grace He has shown me.

What is grace.

Grace is when God gives me what I need, not

what I deserve. If I got to what I deserved,

I wouldn't be alive and needed with jew. Grace is

God's riches at Christ's expense. Grace is everything God is

able to do in your life, not because of who

you are, but because of what Jesus did for you.

Grace is God's free gift, and the Bible says in

Ephesians two eight, you have been saved by grace through

faith or through believing. You do not save yourselves. It

was the gift of God. I can't earn my salvation.

I can't work for my salvation. I can't deserve my salvation.

I can't be religious enough to earn my salvation. I

can't bargain with God. I can't bribe with God. It's

simply a gift that's called grace. And because it's a

gift to grace, not dependent upon me, I can always

be thankful that God forgives me, not because they deserve it,

but because of his grace. That God loves me, not

because he deserves it, but because of his grace. That

God blesses me and uses me and protects me and

takes me to heaven, not because of what I do,

but because of His grace. That is an incontrovertible truth,

and it is a gift of God. Now, in the

Book of Psalms, chapter one oh three psal one oh three,

it gives us a list of God's gifts of grace.

Let me read them to you.

David is having a thanksgiving psalm, and he says, I

will not forget the glorious things or the gracious things

that God does for me. He forgives all my sins.

That's grace. He heals me, that's grace. He ramsoms me

from hell, that's grace. He surrounds me with love. He

fills my life with good things. He's merciful and ten

towards those who don't deserve it. He's slow to get angry.

That's grace. He never bears a grudge. I'm really grateful

for that one, aren't you That God does not hold

a grudge. He has not punished us as we deserve

for our sins. That's grace. And no matter what happens

in my life, I can say God, I thank you

for the grace of God in my life.

The air I breathe is a gift of God.

The fact that I can hear, that I can see,

that I can talk to you, that I can think,

those are all everything in your life is a gift

of God's grace. Now, the first way the Bible tells

us to express thanksgiving is by singing, and all through

the Book of Psalms, it says make a joyful noise. Now,

even pigs do that when they're eating. So it doesn't

mean you have to be on key. It doesn't mean

you have to have the correct note. You could be

a prison singer, always behind a few bars and.

Never have the right key.

But the Bible says, make a joyful noise. Psalm ninety five,

Verse two says, let us come to God with thanksgiving,

singing songs of thanks to him. Number two is for

the plans He has for me. I could always thank

God for the good plans that He has for my life.

Now.

Life is not always good. In fact, it's bad. A

lot of the time.

Life is tough.

And I'm not going to stand here as some Pollyanna

pastor and lie to you and tell you, well, just

believe the sun will come out tomorrow, because he doesn't

always come out tomorrow. There are a lot of bad

things happening in the world all the time. Life is

not always good. But God is always good, and his

plan for your life is always good. Now, not everything

that happens in your life is something he planned, but

everything that happens in your life he fits into your plan.

Here's what the Bible says, Jeremiah twenty nine to eleven.

I have good plans for you. I have good plans

for you, says the Lord. I don't plan to hurt you.

I plan to give you hope and a good future.

A lot of people will go around think of God's

mad at him. God isn't mad at you. God is

mad about you. He loves you more than anybody else.

The only reason you're alive is because God created you

to love you. If God didn't want to love you, you

wouldn't take your next breath. You are alive because God

made you to love you. He's mad about you, and

he says, I have good plans for your life, not

bad plans. Some people worship of God, who they think

causes all their suffering. I worship a God who bears

all my suffering.

Look at the cross.

The Bible says, he was bruised for our transgressions, He

was wounded for our inick gooities.

By his stripes, your healed.

He took my suffering, my sin, my shame, my guilt

on him. We have a God who suffers not just

with us, but he suffers for us.

That's good news.

God says, I have the plans for you and their

good plans. Now, as I said, God doesn't plan your sins,

and a lot of things that happen in your life

are because of dumb decisions. God didn't plan those things.

A lot of things happen because people make bad decisions.

So God doesn't plan the sins done by you, and

God doesn't plan the sins of other people done against

you that hurt you and leave you as.

An innocent victim.

But what God says is, you make choices, but I

already know in advance all the choice you're going to make.

So God says, I can fit that into the plan.

I can fit that in the plan. And God looks

at all of the dumb decisions I'm going to make

in life, I can fit that in.

I can fit that in. I can fit that in.

God has no plan B for your life because he

already knows all the other things that other people will

do that he didn't agree with, and other things that

you'll do that he didn't agree with. God's plan for

you is good, and he says, I'll even take the

bad and bring good out of it. I liken God's

will and your will to like a cruise line. You

have a free will, but it's not completely free. You're

only free to do certain things, and it is limited.

For instance, if you and I were to get on

a cruise line and we were to go from La

to Tokyo, you'd have a lot of freedom for the

next ten days on that cruise. You could go to

all seven buffets, even the midnight one. You could pack

on the pounds. You could walk around the cruise ship.

You could go swimming, you could go dancing, you could

go probably buy some stuff. You could sleep on the

sun deck, you could do listen to the entertainment. There's

lots of freedom you could do. But no matter what

you do, that's ship's going to Tokyo and you're not

stopping it. And God's great or plan for your life

is much bigger than the problems you're going through. God's

purpose for your life is bigger than the problems, even

the ones you bring on yourself. And he says, I

can fit that in, I can even use that. I

can even use the harmful things that people do against you,

and I can bring good out of those. God loves

to turn crucifixions into resurrections.

He specializes in it.

When we go through a difficult time when we face

a tragedy, when something happens, a road wind hits us

and we have no idea where it came from or

why it happened. We always want an explanation, and we

start with all the why why why why why? Explanations

do not comfort. What comforts is the presence of God.

You don't need an explanation.

All my explanations are never going to In fact, my

brain is too small to understand why everything happens in

the world. You don't understand either, and you're not gonna

know why most things happen in your life until you

get to heaven. So you need to stop worrying about it,

and instead you need to thank God that his grace

is sufficient to show you what you need.

His plan is good for you.

And the other thing is that we can be thankful

in bad times because of this.

Verse Romans eight twenty eight.

We know that in all things, not just the good things,

in all things, in all things, God works, God works

for the good.

Doesn't say all things are good. They're not.

But God works in all things for good for those

who love Him, not for everybody, but for those who

place their lives in him and have been called according

to his purpose. Now, I don't know what has you worried.

You may be worried about your finances. You may be

worried about your health. You may be worried. Are we

ever going to work out these marriage problems? Am I

ever going to get married? Will we ever have a baby?

Will I ever get hired again? And I don't know,

But you feel the tension and the anxiety and the

insecurity welling up inside of you, and you go, how

in the world can I be thankful in this situation

right now?

Because we know if you've put.

Your hand in the hand of the Lord, in all things,

God is working for the good. You've got somebody on

your side. In all things, God is working for the

good of those who love him. And I don't know

what's got you nervous, what's got you worried right now?

But I do know the antidote. And the antidote is

the second way we express thanksgiving to God. The first

is by singing, second is by praying. And all through

Scripture we are told to cast our cares, our anxieties,

our worries on God.

We're to not worry. Instead, we're to pray.

Do you remember that verse we looked at and the

Philippians study Philippians four to six. It's there in your outline.

Don't be anxious or worried about anything. Instead pray about everything.

If you're not praying, you're worrying. If you're worrying, you're

not praying. The Bible says, don't be anxious or worried

about anything. Instead pray about everything, always making your request

to God. Read it aloud with me, with thanksgiving. With thanksgiving,

that's the second way you show thanksgiving to God. First

is by singing, the second is by praying. So I

want us to pause right now.

I want you to bow your head.

I want you to think about what you're worried about

most right now, and then listen to this verse again.

Don't be anxious or worried. Instead pray about everything and

make your request to God with thanksgiving.

So here's how I.

Want you to say, God, you know this problem that

I'm worrying about, and mention it to him. God, you

know this problem. You know it's got me upset and

I'm stressed out about it. And here's what I want

you to do and make your request to God.

Ask him. Right now, here's what I want to take

the problem away.

Solve the problem, resolve the problem, show me the answer,

show me the way out. And then it says with thanksgiving.

So right now in your heart, say, Dear God, thank

you for the grace that you've shown me, that you

forgive me, you ransom me from hell, you surround me

with love, you fill my life with good things. Thank

you for all the gifts of grace, and thank you

for your plan that it's a good plan. Others people

may have a bad plan for my life, but your

plan is good. And God, I want to thank you

that in all things that are happening in my life,

you are working for the good of my life. Because

I love you and I want to fulfill your purpose.

Thank you in your name, I pray Amen.

Okay.

Number three, The third thing I can be thankful for

no matter how bad things get in my life is this.

I can always thank God for his promise.

To never leave me. That's a big one.

I can always thank God, no matter what I'm going through,

for his promise to never leave me. You will never

go through anything in your life on your own. You

might feel alone, but you're not on your loan on you.

You're just not aware of it. There is no moment

in your life when God is not with you. The

Bible says this for Hebrews thirteen six thirteen five. I

will never leave you, and I will never abandon you. Now,

I looked up that word in the original Greek in

the Bible, and the word means never never never never

never never never never never never never never never, never

never never. For the next ten years, it means no way, Jose,

not a zero, no zip, not a chance, not on

your life. Forget about it, don't worry about it. I

will never leave you. I will never abandon you. There

will never be a second in your life when you're

going through the darkest dungeons and valleys of life.

God says, I'm going to be with you. I'm not

just gonna watch you. I'm going to be with you.

That's where thanking God for that. He will never leave me.

He will never Some of you have been abandoned by

your dad. Some of you are abandoned by your mother.

Some of you are abandoned by a husband or a wife,

or a boyfriend or a friend or somebody who are

counting on God will never do that.

He said, I will never leave you.

I will never aband I can thank God no matter

what I'm going through, He's going through it with me.

We have a God who doesn't just watch our suffering,

who doesn't just care about our suffering.

He suffers with us.

The Bible says this in Isaiah forty three too, when

you go through deep waters, I will be with you.

When you pass through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.

And when you walk through the fire, you will not

be burned. It will not consume you. That's promise, and

I can always be thankful for that when you go

through deep waters. You know, there's a song popular song

we sing it side of that called Oceans, and it

has a line in that says, your grace abounds in

deepest waters.

Your grace abounds in deepest water. That's true. What does

that mean?

It means you don't know God is all you need

until God's all you got. When you come to the

point that you've got no support, no financial support, no

emotional support, no relational support, you feel like, man, I'm

out here on my own, I'm on the point, and

I'm by myself, and there's nobody with me. God says,

I'm with you. I'm with you, and you don't know

God is all you need until God is all you got.

Number four, I can always be thankful no matter what

happens in my life. I can be thankful for the

changes God's make in me because he's not letting me

stay by myself. He's changing me on the inside. I

can thank God for the grace he's shown me, for

the plans he has for me, for the promise that

he'll never leave me, and for the changes he's making

in me now. The Bible says in Romans five, three

and four, we can have joy even in our troubles.

In other words, we can be thankful than even in.

Dark days because we know that these troubles produce endurance,

and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. Now, what's

the big deal about character? Why should I be so

concerned about my character? You see, you're not interested in

your character most time, you're interested in your comfort. God

is far more interested in your character than your comfort.

God's goal in your life is not to make your

life easy. God's goal in your life is to grow

you up. Why because this life is preparation.

For the next.

The comfort is coming in eternity, forever and ever and

ever and ever and ever. No more sorrow, no more suffering,

no more sickness, stormer sadness, no more depression, no more disease,

no more.

Despair, none of that.

The comfort is coming forever and ever in eternity. Right now,

you're in the get ready stage. And why is God

interested in your character? Because it's the only thing you're

taken with you. You're not taking your money with you,

you're not taking your reputation with you. You're not taking

your career or your car, or your china or your clothes,

but you are taking your character. It's the only thing

that's going to heaven you. And so you better be

working on your character because that's all you've got for eternity.

You could pile up all kinds of stuff here on

this planet and have a little, tiny, weak, wimpy character,

and that's what you're stuck with. Really, God is more

interested in who you are than what you do.

We're always a god. Which job should I take? Which

job you want me to?

God's probably saying, you know, any one of those dozen

jobs will be fine, because I'm more interested in what

you become.

Than who you work for.

And God says, I want you to be working on that,

and He's making changes in me. And that's why we

can have joy in our troubles, because God says, even

in troubles, I'm refining you. I'm polishing you, I'm making you.

I'm developing endurance. I'm developing patience. Love and joy and

peace and patience, all those things, I'm building them in

your life even in the tough times. So I can

thank God that he's working inside me, He's changing me.

The great musician, concert musician, it's a pearlman. One time

he was doing a concert at Lincoln Center and he

walked out on stage, and you know, he has to

wear leg braces and takes quite a long time to

walk down on stage, take the braces off, sit down

to start playing. And as he got ready to play,

he broke a string and everybody heard it break. The

whole concert hall heard it break. Now he's either got

to get up, put those braces on, and walk back

off stage and change and get a new string, or

go on the way he is. And as a great

musician that he was, he went ahead and played that

entire concert with one less string. He played that entire

concert on a broken instrument, and at the end of

the conference, as one person, the entire audience rose to

its feet in thunderous applause for this magnificent feet. They

had just watched a man play an entire concert on

a broken instrument, and it's not Pearlman said something very profound,

and it applies to your life.

He said this, Sometimes it is.

The artist's task to find out how much music you

can still play with what you have left between now

and when you die. How much music can you make

with your life for the glory of God with what

you have left. You don't have the body you used

to have, you don't have the energy you used to have.

You may not have.

All the supports system around you you used to have.

It is sometimes the duty of the artist to find

out how much music you can play.

Still with what you have left.

You need to stop focusing on what you've lost, and

you need to start focusing on what's left. Stop looking

at what's lost, and start looking at what's left and

what you can do to make the most of what

you still got for the glory of God. That's character.

That's not being a victim. That's character. The Bible says

this in Philippians two thirteen. For God is working in you,

giving you the desire to obey him and the power

to do what pleases him.

Tewod Corinthians three eighteen.

As the spirit of the Lord works within us, we

become more and more like him.

I'll think about this.

God not only says I'm going to be with you

the rest of your life.

He says I'm going to be in you the rest

of your life. I'm going to put my power in you. Now.

Often we don't feel that power. In fact, oftentimes we

feel pretty weak. We think I don't have the energy

to get out of bed, I don't have the energy

to face all the demands on my life. I'm sick

and tired of being sick and tired.

I just feel weak. And God says that.

Is when my strength shows up, and I can be

grateful for the changes He's making in me. Two Corinthians

twelfth nine says this. God said to Paul, my grace

is all you need when you're weak. My power is

made perfect in you. So Paul says, I'm happy to

brag about my weaknesses.

Then Christ's power can live in me.

I get God's presence, I get God's peace, I get

God's pardon, and I get God's power. I get God's

plan and I get God's purpose. These are things I

can thank God for when my life is falling apart

and when the roague winds are blowing me over sideways.

When was the last time you thank God really for

the grace that he's shown you, for the good plan

that he has for you, for the changes he's making

in you, and for the promise that He's never going

to leave you. The Bible says this giving thanks is

a sacrifice that truly honors me. Did you know that

every time you say thanks to God? God says, that's

like a sacrifice. It's like a sacrificial gift to me

as God. Every time you remember to say thanks, Let

me show you another verse Psalm ninety seven, verse twelve.

Remember what your Holy God has done for you, and

give thanks to him. This is the third way we

express thanks at thanksgiving. This is how we give thanks

by remembering what we have been given. Let me give

you the fifth thing you can always thank God for

no matter how bad things get in your life, no

matter how terrible the situation is that you're going through

at that moment, and it's this, I can always thank God.

For the home he's prepared for me. I'm talking about Heaven.

I can thank God for the home he's prepared for me,

the grace he's shown me, the plans he has for me,

the promise he'll never leave me, the changes that he's

making in me, and the home he's prepared for me.

By the way those changes he's making in me, you know,

I love this fact that I'm not all that I

should be, and by the way, neither are your. I'm

not all I should be, But thank God I'm not

what I used to be, and neither are you. That's

something to be grateful for. You can say three things

with confidence, say thank God, I'm not what I used

to be. Thank God I am what I am right now.

Thank God, I'm not what I'm going to be.

If you don't like me, just hang around.

I'm getting better and one day I'm going to be

made into perfection in Christ. And that's going to happen

in that home that God has prepared for me. I

am grateful that this life is not all there is.

I'm grateful that this isn't the end of the story.

I am grateful that the final chapter on my life,

your life, and everybody else hasn't been written yet. That

there is more to life than here and now, that

there is an ever after that's going to go on

and on and on. That you were made to last

for eternity. The Bible says, God has put eternity in

your hearts. It's why sometimes you go, there's got to

be more to life than this, because there is. You

were made for more than just this life. You were

made for eternity. And I could always be thankful no

matter what I'm going through, the pain I'm going through,

for the hope of heaven, that He's preparing a place

for me. Jesus said it like this, John fourteen two

and three. I am going there where heaven. I'm going

there to prepare a place for you. And if I

go and prepare a place for you, I'll come back.

I'll come back and I'll take you to be with me,

that you may be where I am. God has been

preparing a place for you. It's called heaven. You want

to know how long He's been decorating that place. You

want to know how long God has been preparing a

place for you, his family, his child. Look at the

next verse, Jesus said it here, then the King will say, come, you,

who are blessed of my father, Take your inheritance. The

kingdom prepared for you. Since the creation of the world.

That's a long time to beating.

That's a long.

Time, you know, you know how long? What is heaven

going to be like? It's amazing when you think about it,

because most people have this really boring image of heaven white,

everything is white.

You think the god.

Who invented color is going to make everything white in heaven.

That you're going to sit in a white robe with angels,

wings on a on a you know, on a cloud,

and play a harp. That would be hell. I can't

think of anything more boring. I don't know how people

make heaven, you know, think of the greatest experiences that

you can think of here on Earth, like sunsets okay,

and beautiful beaches and bora borer. There's a lot of

cool things on this planet, and it's broken. This is

an imperfect place, and there's still a lot of beauty

and cool things on this planet. Think of a place

with perfection, with no sorrow, no sadness, no economic disasters,

no environmental disasters, no man messing it all up.

It's a perfect It's going to be unbelievable.

The Bible says, I has not seen, hear, has not heard,

neither hath entered into the heart of man, the wonderful

things that God has prepared for.

Those who love him in heaven.

We know at least four things. We know we will

be reunited with those that we love. I have a

father in heaven. I have a mother in heaven. I

have a brother in heaven, and I now have a

son in heaven. I have a father in law, and

I have many others. We will be reunited with those

who love the Lord. I know that we will be released.

The Bible says there will be no more pain, no

more sorrow, no more tears, no more sadness, because there

will be no more death. The Bible says there will

be no disease, no despair, no discouragement, no depression. There

will be no broken minds, there will be no broken bodies,

there will be no broken relationships, there will be no

broken promises. It will all be made whole. We will

be reunited. We will be released. The Bible says, we

will be rewarded. There will be rewards in heaven based

on what did you do with what I gave you.

The Bible says, if you're faithful and little things, you'll

be faithful. And much are you storing up treasure in heaven?

Are you spending it all on yourself right now? And

the Bible says, we will not only be rewarded, we

will be reassigned. You're not going to around on your

blessed assurance in heaven.

You're going to work. Only.

It's going to be work that you like to do,

and there won't be problems and weeds in it. But

you will have things to do that are fulfilling, and

you will be useful to yourself and to others.

Here's what the Bible says.

First, Peter, God has reserved for his children the priceless

gift of eternal life.

And I want to stop right there first. It says

God is reserved.

That reservation for you has already been made. It's been

made long before you need it. God has put a

reservation in heaven for you, for his children. Is everybody

going to be in heaven? Absolutely? Not only his children

are going to heaven. Is everybody a child of God?

Absolutely not. Everybody is loved by God. Everybody is created

by God. God has never made a person he didn't

want in heaven. God has never made a person love.

God has never made a person he doesn't want to

know him. But you got to choose to be in

God's family. And God is not going to force you

to love him. And you can thumb your nose God

and say, God, I'm going to be my own God.

I don't need Jesus, I don't need a savior, I

don't need any grace. I'm good enough in your dreams.

There's not a snowball's chance in hell. You're getting into

Heaven on your own effort. The only way you're getting

in is God's way. And Jesus said it like this,

I am the way, not on one way, not I'm

a good way, Not I'm a best way, not in

one of the ways.

I'm the way.

Now, either Jesus is true or he's the biggest liar

ever lived. I'm betting my life that he was right.

What are you betting your life on? You need to decide,

am I going to accept or reject the love of God?

To miss heaven.

You have to have so much pride you say, I

don't need God's grace. I don't need Jesus to die

for me. I don't need salvation. I'm good enough on

my own. Are you kidding me? That is the ultimate

audacious arrogance. If you haven't settled this issue, you need

to settle it. The greatest thing you need to do

is you need to humbly say to God, God, there's

no way I'm getting into heaven on my own, and

I know it. I've done too many wrong things. I'm

not perfect, and I need you to be my savior.

God.

I need grace, I need forgiveness. And if you haven't

done that, I would encourage you to do it. In

the heavens, the Bible says God gives us the hope

of heaven that He's prepared for us. This is why

we believe Second Corinthians for That says this. We often suffer,

but we're never crushed. Even when we don't know what

to do. We never give up. In time trouble, God

is with us, and when we're knocked down, we get

up again. We know that God raised the Lord back

to life, and just as he raised Jesus. He will

also raise us back to life, will bring us into

His presence together. So we don't focus on the trouble,

the pain, the sorrow, the suffering that we see right now.

Instead we look forward to what we don't see yet.

For the troubles we see are temporary, but the joys

to come will last forever. I am so thankful I'm

not going to have to live with pain forever. I'm

grateful for death on this earth because I don't want

to live on a broken planet forever. I wasn't made

to live on a broken planet, for I was made

to live in the presence of God forever.

And God will wipe everyway, every tear, no more.

Or death, no more mourning, no more suffering. And I

can be thankful for that no matter what's going on

in my life.

That's power. Heads.

Have you settled the issue of eternity? If you were

to die tonight, are you absolutely certain you'd go to heaven?

If God were to say to you, why should I

let you into my heaven?

What would you say? Would you know the right answer?

Would you say, because I humbly admitted I cannot save

myself because I've developed a relationship with you, and I

got to know you.

Lord.

I've been a friend of Jesus Christ for over fifty years,

and I know he sees, he cares, and he suffers

through everything that I go through. I want you to

have that relationship to him. I'm going to pray a

prayer right now. You may have been in church your

entire life, but you're not sure of it.

It's time to settle this issue.

Whether you're saying or not, you need to pray this

prayer right now and mean it sincerely, to say it

in your mind. Dear God, I humbly admit I cannot

save myself. I humbly admit that I have done wrong things.

I have rebelled, I've done things that you didn't want

me to do, and I'm sorry for my sin. I

need your grace, I need your forgiveness. I need your

love in my life. I want to be grateful for

the grace you've shown to me. I want to be

grateful for the good plan you have for my life,

and I want to follow that plan as best I

know how.

I want the rest of my life to be the

best of my life.

Thank you for the promise that you will never leave me.

Thank you that you're working in me. I'm not what

I I used to be, but I'm not what I'm

going to be. And I thank you that you have

prepared heaven for me. And today I trust my life

into your hands. I want you to be the manager

of the rest of my life, my Lord and my savior,

and I humbly pray this in your name.

Amen.