Why I don't wanna Tell God Thank You anymore

The other day, I realized I always start my prayers like this:
“God, thanks. Thanks for…”

Every time.

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with thanking God. In fact, I’m assuming He thinks it’s a good thing—as long as it’s sincere. And I think I’m somewhat sincere. But what I find is that I say “Thanks” when I’m praying sometimes because I'm not sure what else to say yet.

Pretty crazy, huh?

I was taught to pray the ACTS way A(doration), C(onfession), T(hanksgiving) and S(upplication). For me, the adoration thing has always been hard, so I’ve used that time to thank Him more than I have to acknowledge His omnipotence, grace and mercy.

So, whether I’m praying in a group or praying on my own, I always thank Him first. And then I pause to think about what I want to thank Him for. And sometimes, I tell Him thank you for something I’m not really thankful for--that thing that I know I SHOULD be thankful for--maybe even want to be thankful for--but I'm not really.

So, for a while, I’m going to consciously NOT thank Him when I start of talking to Him and work on thanking Him throughout the day. Like I do when I’m asking Him for something.

And, hopefully, I will be surprised at just how thankful I am.