I found a lifelong love in a middle school band room playing a used clarinet–the art of practice. I loved working on my scales and solos and improving as an individual. I also loved growing together with my peers in the band. I find many parallels in my faith journey through exploring spiritual practices both personally and communally. I find the same joy in steady, intentional growth and the same sense of belonging. This first captured me in the band room.
A spiritual practice is any intentional rhythm, habit, or discipline that helps us become more attentive to God’s presence and more aligned with God’s character. It can be personal—such as prayer, Scripture reading, silence, or journaling—or communal, like worship, service, or fellowship. At its core, a spiritual practice creates space for transformation. It grounds us in purpose, gratitude, and love.
In this season of thanksgiving and gratitude, I find myself reflecting on how thanksgiving itself can become a spiritual practice. It is an intentional posture of noticing God’s goodness, acknowledging the gifts woven into each day, and responding with humility and joy. Practiced regularly, gratitude shapes the heart much like daily musical exercises shape a musician: slowly, steadily, and with transformative effect.
As a Christian in the United Methodist tradition, one of my favorite prayers to say each morning is:
“New every morning is your love, Great God of light, and all day long you are working for good in the world. Stir up in us a desire to serve you, to live peacefully with our neighbors, and to devote each day to your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.”
Praying with the Psalms
Another faithful practice in the Jewish and Christian traditions is praying with the Psalms. Psalm 100 is a beautiful song of thanksgiving, inviting us into deep rhythms of gratitude that have shaped worshipers for generations. Its words call us to remember that we are beloved and we belong. We are delightful to God. We should embrace that gratitude with joy, with praise, and with thankful hearts.
“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness;
come into his presence with singing.
Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him; bless his name.
For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever
and his faithfulness to all generations.”
Gratitude Across Religious Traditions
Gratitude is central to Christian faith and is a practice cherished across many of the world’s religious traditions. In Islam, expressions of shukr (thankfulness) are woven into daily life. They are spoken in prayer, embodied through acts of charity, and cultivated as a conscious awareness of God’s continual mercy and provision. In Buddhism, gratitude is nurtured through mindfulness and an appreciation of interdependence. It honors the countless seen and unseen forces that sustain life. Hindu traditions likewise emphasize thankfulness through offerings, rituals, and devotional songs. Though each faith expresses it differently, these practices reveal a shared human longing to approach life with appreciation, humility, and reverence. Gratitude becomes a universal pathway to spiritual grounding—one that transcends boundaries while deepening our own faith commitments.
Gratitude, like prayer or singing the Psalms, is a practice that can shape our hearts wherever we find ourselves. Just as Psalm 100 invites us to “enter God’s gates with thanksgiving,” we can enter our daily spaces—our homes, communities, friendships, and the quiet moments between—with that same posture of reflection and appreciation. A simple exercise shared by Forbes Women beautifully echoes this spirit and can be adapted to any environment. It serves as a way of nurturing gratitude both individually and communally:
Invite each member of the group to share gratitude in three areas:
- Something they are grateful for in their community.
This mirrors the spiritual practice of noticing goodness in the ordinary, naming where growth, purpose, or meaningful impact is unfolding in the lives around us. - Someone in the community they are grateful for, and why.
Much like the interdependence celebrated in many faith traditions, this practice honors the people who support, guide, and care for us. These are people with whom we “grow together,” as in a beloved ensemble or congregation. - Something in their life outside of the community they are grateful for.
This broadens our awareness, reminding us that our gifts are not confined to any one setting. Sharing these gratitudes allows us to see one another more fully and to recognize the wider tapestry of blessing in our lives.
Finally, the facilitator or leader should note everyone who receives recognition and follow up with appreciation for those not mentioned. This ensures that, much like the inclusive love described in our prayers and scriptures, the practice of gratitude embraces the whole community.
