A Grateful Heart

I will like to start by saying those who don't always have a reason to thank God, He always moves away from them. He who remembers to say thank you for today lives to receive tomorrow. Even the bible tells us a story of how John the Baptist died in prison because he was complaining when he should be thanking and praising God. I have come to realize that people are more in the business of asking than giving thanks for that which has already been given to them. And with that said, allow me to quickly take us back to the bible where it tells us a story of the ten lepers that Jesus cleansed as He entered into a certain village while He was passing through Samaria and Galilee. According to the scripture, one of them turned back and with a loud voice, he glorified God when he saw that he was healed. He fell down on his face at His feet giving thanks and he was a Samaritan, and with Jesus answering, He said, “Were there not ten cleansed but where are the nine?”

I believe He seems to be saying in that verse that many receive mercy but only a few are thankful. And the painful part of it all is that they don't know the power of thanksgiving and they would spend the rest of their lives thanking and praising God if only they did. Thanksgiving and praise holds the key that opens the prison. They seal up miracles, making them permanent. If a heart is not grateful, you see an ingrate but if you see a heart that’s filled with so much gratitude, it shows in the act of that person. Gratitude by faith shows up in action and when it doesn't, it means it is dead. Show me a man that is grateful to God and I will show you a man with gratitude. In 1king 3, the bible tells us that Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. He went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.

Solomon did all that because he was a grateful son and knew how to say thank you. Don't be an ingrate, you been one only takes you back to the slave land. When you are grateful to God, he opens doors unto you. The question now is this, “what is the act of a grateful heart?” First of all, if your heart is grateful, gratitude and thanksgiving will come before all requests. Often times when we go to God, we come to him with a list we call our prayer point or prayer request depending on which you prefer and to be sincere, the number one thing that should be on that list is thanksgiving. Give Him thanks for what He has done, what He is doing, what He’s yet to do and wouldn’t do but capable of doing. If you pray for ten minutes, let thanksgiving be more than five minutes. The first act that you see from a grateful heart is that thanksgiving will come before all requests.

Secondly, the act of thanksgiving will not be conditioned on the things expected from God. You know, it shouldn't be because of what you want Him to do for you but because of who He is, what He has done and capable of doing. Give Him thanks for He's worthy of your praise. Make it a habit to praise and give Him thanks, it provokes the blessings of God. The fastest way to His heart is through praise and thanksgiving, basically. Have you ever thought of why God loved David so much and said he was the man after His own heart? Well, for those who don’t know or those who do but needs to be reminded, it is simply because David knew how to praise Him. There's more to praising than we may ever know so if I were you, I’ll spend more time praising him than asking, it pays to, trust me. Next on the list is when a man puts up an uncommon, unusual and a record breaking act.

I mean, when one does something uncommon that springs up surprises that provoke the other party asking what the meaning of what he did is and he responds with a hug smile saying it's because of what you've done for me. Our show of gratitude will reflect what's in our heart. In 2 Samuel 6, David thanked the Lord in a way that no king has ever thanked him that even his wife was wondering what kind of king he was. Let us begin to give our best to God, we can't be too big for Him, remember He's the one that made you what you are today. Do uncommon things to thank Him and as you do so from today, may the heavens be opened unto you In Jesus mighty name. Furthermore, a thoughtful heart is a grateful heart because it takes a thoughtful consideration before thanksgiving can come out of the heart. Always remember God made you, you didn't make yourself. If you think deep, you will thank him.

There you are looking so beautiful but remember there are people without a sound mind that would rather turn that beautiful piece of clothing you are putting on into a rag. If you think deep, you will find a reason to be thankful. It is usually the things we take for granted that should be most treasured. In psalm 116:12, David asked “What shall I render? What shall I give back that He doesn't have for all He has done for him?”, and the answer to that question came in the verse fourteen of that same chapter, saying he will offer thanksgiving to the name of the Lord. If you are grateful, let it show in your act. Let it show in your giving, in your dancing, in your praising and in your testimony just to mention a few.  Be thankful to the one who has preserved you and have not allowed the devil to have his way in your life. Show appreciation, give Him thanks always. God bless

Kay Magnate