5 Prayers that Thank God for the Gift of Life

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We've been counting Bonus Days for 12 years when a life-changing event made us realize that every day is a gift of life and a reason to rejoice. #BonusDays #GiftofLife #Miracles #CountingMyBlessings #Livewithhope

September 20th, 2019 is Bonus Day 4,383.

How do I know? Because Rev writes the number on his calendar every single morning.

It is sometimes hard to believe it’s been 12 years since the miracle – since Bonus Day #1.

I have so many memories imprinted on my heart and mind … moments from days, weeks, and yes, months all leading up to September 20, 2007.

To name a few. There were:

  • Symptoms that looked like heart failure which continued to get worse all without a diagnosis or explanation.
  • Trips to doctors for tests and procedures we hoped would lead to cures and answers.
  • The times they had to drain liters of fluid off his lungs.
  • And family and friends who covered us in prayer as we waited for God’s peace and healing.

Finally, after almost a year … we learned that something called a Pericardial Stripping was the only way, short of a miracle, to save Rev’s life. However, it’s a surgery that most cardiac surgeons don’t want to do and one they were doubtful Rev’s body was strong enough to survive at the time. If you would like to read more of the story, you can find it here and here.

Most families celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays.

In the Bible, God told His children to celebrate festivals. Days they were to rejoice and remember His deliverance and protection. His miraculous grace and mercy.

Days of praise and prayers.

So, today … I’m going to God with a festival of praise and I’d love for you to join me.

You may not have a specific life and death situation where you saw God’s miraculous intervention … but through Jesus, we have God’s divine protection in the greatest life and death situation of all. We have been offered an endless supply of Bonus Days and more reasons to thank and praise God than we can count. We have been forgiven and set free to celebrate forever … one day at a time.

So, let’s pray and thank God for the gift of life … today!

5 Prayers that Thank God for the Gift of Life

We've been counting Bonus Days for 12 years when a life-changing event made us realize that every day is a gift of life and a reason to rejoice. #BonusDays #GiftofLife #Miracles #CountingMyBlessings #Livewithhope

You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in Your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.
How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God.
    They cannot be numbered!

Psalm 139:16–17

Father, how do I begin to thank you the way I should for the gift of life. Your Word says You knew me before I was born. You knew the plans You had for me and prepared a path for me long ago.

When I think of Your grace and mercy, the people You have brought into my life, the opportunities You’ve placed before me, the ways You pursued me with Your love … it fills me with humble gratitude and overwhelming awe. Thank you!

I am so thankful for the gift of every Bonus Day! There are no promised days in this life … so every one is a gift, a day to celebrate and serve. Please help me. Fill me Your Spirit and help me trust, follow, and obey Your will for me today.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
    His faithful love endures forever.
This is the Lord’s doing,
    and it is wonderful to see.
This is the day the Lord has made.
    We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:1,23–24

Lord, You are so good! Your love is evident in the beauty of the world You created. It is realized in the gift of Jesus. And it is known in our hearts through the power of Your Spirit.

This day, today, is a gift from You! A Bonus Day to thank, praise, and serve You. A festival, a day to celebrate and rejoice in the simple gift of life. Whatever the day brings, may I live for Your glory. Thank you!

Let all that I am praise the Lord;
    with my whole heart,
I will praise His holy name.
Let all that I am praise the Lord;
    may I never forget the good things
He does for me.

Psalm 103:1–2

Father, I want to praise You with all I am. I love this reminder to never forget all the good things You have done for me … to remember to count my blessings.

It can be so easy to allow everything from little annoyances to big problems distract me from the countless good You pour into my life. Please forgive me.

Thank you for Your grace and mercy, for Your peace and protection, for the gift of family and friends, for hope and happiness, for love and forgiveness. Thank you for Jesus! Thank you for Bonus Days!

But then I recall all You have done, O Lord;
    I remember Your wonderful deeds of long ago.
They are constantly in my thoughts.
    I cannot stop thinking about
Your mighty works.

Psalm 77:11–12

Father, thank you for the gift of Your Word. I love reading about all You have done from creation to the promise of Jesus and a future forever in Your presence.

Thank you for the gift of faith and the ways You work in my heart and mind to draw me closer to You and to the knowledge of the Truth.

Thank you for giving us days to celebrate! Days like birthdays and anniversaries … days of deliverance and protection.

Please give me eyes to see Your hand at work around me each day and a heart of thanks and praise for Your loving presence in my life.

Praise the Lord!
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
    His faithful love endures forever.
 Who can list the glorious miracles of the Lord?
    Who can ever praise Him enough?

Psalm 106:1–2

Lord, I thank you! You have been so good to me! You have shown me Your faithful forever love over and over again! Your miracles surround me. Please give me … eyes to see, a heart full of gratitude, and an attitude of praise!

This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad! Amen.

We've been counting Bonus Days for 12 years when a life-changing event made us realize that every day is a gift of life and a reason to rejoice. #BonusDays #GiftofLife #Miracles #CountingMyBlessings #Livewithhope

Friend, I pray you have many reasons to celebrate God’s gift of life today!

It’s so easy for us to get caught up in the routines and busyness of life that we forget today is not just another day … it’s a blessing to celebrate. It’s a reason to rejoice.

It’s a gift. It’s a miracle.

It’s a Bonus Day!

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21 Comments

  1. Tea With Jennifer says:

    Deb,
    Praise God for having the Rev with you for all those bonus days!
    My bonus days number into years now…36 years actually since I visited Heaven! Yes everyday is definitely a bonus day…praise Him! 😀
    Blessings,
    Jennifer

  2. Let all that I am praise You Lord for all of your goodness, your faithfulness and your love!! I was reminded yesterday that I needed to be more intentional about my grattitude for ALL that He blesses me with. If He didn’t do anything but set me free from my sin then that is enough but He is so very good to give us blessings upon blessings and I want to do better in proclaiming those, to give Him the glory! What a beautiful way to start a new day, thank you Deb!

  3. Barbara Harper says:

    I love this! I love that God builds celebration days into His calendar and that you and your husband mark every day as a bonus day. Praising with you!

  4. I love that you mark the faithfulness of God on the calendar! What an amazing spiritual practice! Praising God with you and your husband for all the bonus days!

  5. Thank YOU for leading me to thankfulness! God is so good, and somewhere in the middle of all the crazy things in life I forget. I’m always trying to move forward that I forget to appreciate the right now.

    (And thank you for the feature! What a lovely surprise!)

  6. I love so many things about this post that I dont know where to start. First, giving thanks and praise to God for Rev’s life. Thanking God that he is still marking the calendar! Thank you for hosting and reminding us to give thanks!

  7. This is a great post Deb. I had never seen before the concept of bonus days but it makes so much sense. Thank you.

    Now although none in our family have suffered any medical issue like Rev’s (although I have come close to death because of asthma more than a few times 🙂 ) we do have a very special date. October 11, 2011. On that day our world stopped. In an excruciatingly painful moment, we went from being housed to homeless. Looking back on that moment, we can see God granting us the grace of a new life in Him. Hallelujah! What a wonderful God we serve who leads us in the path of the wilderness to grant us new life, just like Rev.

    We have 4,362 bonus days now and look forward to many more. Thank you for this inspiration. You have given us a whole new way of looking at our journey. I am truly grateful! 🙂

  8. Deb, every day is a bonus day when we stop and think about it. And we should be rejoicing and praising God in all of our blessings, big and small! Can’t be thankful enough for everything He has done.
    Blessings to you and to Rev!

  9. I love this post! Especially love how you highlighted that God told his Children to celebrate festivals; days of rejoicing focused on his goodness towards them. If you’re following my Ezra Bible Study you’ll see why that statement resonated.

    I’m grateful for another day (the older I get the weightier that statement is).

  10. Deb,
    You never cease to amaze me with beautiful and inspiring devotionals with wonderful Scriptures from God’s Word! One of my very favorite chapters in the Bible is
    Psalm 139. I love the verse you used where God knew us before we were born. A very deep passage. Then you went right on to beautiful passages giving God praise and glory . You covered many praise Scriptures that we can use throughout our day bringing glory to God the Father.

    “Thankfulness for life!” I have a plaque above my kitchen table that says: “Everyday is a Gift.” Everyday of life is a gift from God. Yes!

    You had many beautiful passages as you always do and then your writing was great! You gave us so many thoughts, ideas and things to pray about to God that He has so graciously given to us.

    I enjoy all of the comments you ladies write.

    Peace and joy,
    Barbara

  11. Praising God with you. I love that you count the days as a bonus. What a great way to look at life. Blessings, Maree

  12. Angela Kukert says:

    What beautiful thoughts, and a great reminder of the right perspective to have. Thank you for sharing!

  13. I’ve been looking to reading this post, Deb, and it was worth the wait! Psalm 139:16 is one of my favorite verses, and I love the idea of Bonus Days. I’m so thankful God chose to save your husband’s life back then and that you are still proclaiming His faithfulness about it today! 🙂

  14. I love the idea of “bonus days”! My husband and I definitely can celebrate with you. Thanks for reminding us of the importance to celebrate them and not take them for granted. Thanks, too, for hosting.