And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are
the nine?
There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this
stranger.
Luke 17:17-18
The principle of thanksgiving is the secret of
multiplicity- Apostle Joshua Selman N.
Ten healed, just
one came back to give glory, what an attitude.
Christ urged them t go. Does it surprise you that He could still ask
after the other nine? That’s because he expected them to come and say thank
you. Nine were healed but one was made
whole; that’s the power of thanksgiving. There are lots of lessons to learn
from this Bible story.
A friend once said; don’t expect your tank to
be full when you are not thankful. Oh! How I wish you understand the power of
thanksgiving. If only you understand the efficacy of appreciating God, you will
never let an hour pass you by without taking a stop to say thank you Jesus. Being so blinded by what we don’t have we
actually forget to see that which we have and to also thank God for them. We
have so let complaints and murmurings fill our lives to the extent that if someone
sees us, he or she might be tempted to remark “what an unfair or poor God they serve” This shouldn’t be the case.
A gift you
don’t appreciate depreciates
You wake up each
day grumbling about everything that isn’t going well in your life, forgetting
that there are a lot of things that has been going well which you have failed
to notice. Until you make thanksgiving
your lifestyle, life will remain complicated to you. The only way the burdens
of your heart can be pushed away is through a heartfelt thanksgiving and
praise. As simple as it sounds it is what gives you a head way if you want to
receive from God. Have you ever paused
to meditate on Philippians 4;6? It says you should fret over nothing rather dial
the prayer number when you have an issue of concern. But the most amazing thing
is that this call and only goes through if you also punch the numbers with
thanksgiving. Prayer and thanksgiving are inseparable. You are wondering why
most answers don’t come when you pray? I guess it lacked the ore ingredient
called THANKSGIVING.
The world will
say wait till it’s done but the kingdom principles states “praise makes it happen”. Little wonder Jesus said “Father thank you
for I know you have heard me....John 11. Now I understand why he took the bread
and fish and instead of casting and binding like some of us will do today, he chose to give thanks... friend! Wake
up each day appreciating what God has done instead of analyzing all that you
don’t have yet, and all the national problems you see on TV. Forget about the debts and bills and thank
God for the ones He has done for you already. By so doing you get Him to do
more.
When prayer
lacks its core ingredient which is THANKSGIVING; no need waiting for an answer
It’s really agonizing when you come into
the church and the pastors say “any testimony” and you see a handful coming out
to tell us about their new assets and liabilities. Look, we all are living testimonies, whether
we possess new assets or not. The greatest miracle isn’t that of a new car or
house, but BEING ALIVE. Whenever I wake
up each day, I say a big thank you to God and this is irrespective of whether
there is meal or not. And if I must be frank, I cannot say thank you to God and
go empty handed.
Let’s take a turn
here. In Act 16, Paul and Silas were flogged and thrown into the prison for
preaching the gospel. You see, obstacles
in your life don’t always come because you did something wrong. Sometimes God allows certain difficulties in
your life so that His glory will be revealed. If you will be faithful in the
uncertainty, He will do something great in your life. The most interesting part
of the story in Acts 16 is the fact that these men despite their chains and
pains went ahead to give God a dance. They praised God. They didn’t do this for
five minutes; neither did they do it for one hour. They did it for as long as
it took for their victory to be delivered. You may feel like the world is on top of you-
your children are always visiting the hospital, expected returns in business is
no longer coming forth, your marriage isn’t what it used to be, your academics
is giving you sleepless nights, you have a health condition which threatens
your peace, well- PRAISE GOD. Give God the dance even when you don’t feel like
doing it. Just like Paul and Silas, find
good in every situation and lift up your voice to the one who seats on the
throne. Do this with all your heart
because your PRAISE IS YOUR PATH WAY TO GLORY.
Thanksgiving lets
your heart free of worries and enables you enjoy the best God offers you.
“Praise and thanksgiving is
that little push that flings wide-open the door of miracles” – Kingsley
Obiefule
You complain
about your worn out shoes, yet my greatest desire is to have a leg to at least
enable me walk. You complain about the kind of meal in front of you, yet I wish
I had any to eat at all. You complain about your job and house and yet my
earnest desire is to stop sleeping in uncompleted buildings and get a job. You
complain about your parents, yet some persons wish they had people to call dad
and mum. You are tired of your wardrobe,
yet some persons can’t boast of two shirts or trousers.
Friend! Most
things you complain about and despise are someone’s earnest prayer and cries....
think about it.
Resolve to give
God the dance and you will realize how simple and great your life would turn
out to be in no time.
Remember,
you don’t actually know how to pray when you don’t know how to praise God -
Pst. Ezekiel Attang
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