How many times have you witnessed a young child being taught to express gratitude? Something is given to the child or done for him and his mother says “What do you say?” and waits for the appropriate “thank you” to come forth. As parents, we drill this concept into our children’s heads so when they are older it has become second nature. Someone does something for you and you thank them. You are given something and you reply with a thank you.
We tend to learn this lesson when it comes to other people; however, we fail to transfer it to God. God is the giver of every good and perfect gift we receive [James 1:17]. He created the heavens and the earth and all that is in it [Genesis 1:1- 2:1]. How many times a day do we thank Him? Many of us thank Him for our meals each day, out of habit, but how many of us truly take pause within our day to thank Him for all He has done for us? For all He has given us? For all He has protected us from? For all He has blessed us with? It has been said that “blessings hemmed with praise will not unravel.”
God does not do for us because he needs our praises and thanks. He does for us because He loves us and He demonstrates His love for us in the things He does [John 3:16]. How do we demonstrate our gratitude? How do we demonstrate our love for Him?
I want to encourage you to begin to praise Him for all He has done for you. You will find you don’t have enough hours in a day to thank Him for everything. If you were to begin making a list of everything He’s ever done for you, you would fill books. God inhabits the praises of His people. What a wonderful way to usher in the presence of the Lord.