BIBLE MEDITATION
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God…” Philippians 4:6
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT
Are constant, vigilant prayer and thanksgiving even possible for us human beings? Yes! Behind every command of God, like “Fear not,” "Don’t be anxious,” "Be thankful,” is the omnipotent power of God to carry it out. Giving thanks is one of the keys to answered prayer. Why should we ask God for more when we’ve not thanked Him for what He’s already given us and already done? Think about it.
Now, there’s a difference between praise and thanksgiving. Praise is reverencing God for who He is; Thanksgiving is recognizing what He’s done. The two are inextricably interwoven, but they’re not exactly the same. Both are absolutely necessary. The person who is not “praiseful” will never be thankful.
Gratitude is what spoils life when it’s left out. If we don’t learn thanksgiving, we become self-centered, then unlovable and unloving. We will live in our own little world, locked up inside ourselves. When we get that way, we make a mighty small package.
If you want to sing in your heart, to be an attractive person to be around, to have your prayers answered, or to have the strength to endure tribulation, you’d better learn to praise and thank God.
It’s sad to see bitter, broken people who’ve never learned to be thankful. But when you’re thankful, your eyes are opened, and the blinders are taken off. A thankful person is open to God and to others.
ACTION POINT
Have you ever kept a “gratitude journal”? Get an inexpensive journal and each day write down something you’re grateful for that day. By the end of thirty days, if you’ve been paying attention to all you have and all God has done, your journal might be full.
LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers
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