Along the lines of Thankfulness....

My last post focused on being thankful for the little things, and taking the time to enjoy life and time with our families.  I also discussed how this could influence your worship.  But I don't feel that I covered it well enough to get the point across.  Thankfulness is a lifestyle that accompanies the worshipers lifestyle.  They go hand in hand.  Today, I want to talk more about this.

Psalm 100:4King James Version (KJV)

4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.

The above scripture gives us a distinctive approach to how we should come into the house of God.  First, we enter His gates with Thanksgiving.  Today, that would equate either driving on the property, or stepping through the doors into the area just outside the sanctuary.  Secondly, when we enter his courts with praise, that would usually mean into the sanctuary.  The next phrase however, does not exclude thanksgiving because we are now beyond the gates.  It says to be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

This signifies that our worship starts with being thankful, then goes into praise, which consists of blessings and being thankful some more.  More and more Christians will sing God's praises with songs like "How Great Is Our God," "How Great Thou Art," and "Revelation Song;" but we forget to simply say Thank You, Lord.  We will declare that His blood was shed for me, and that my healing comes from Him, but do we sit back and say "Thank you, Lord!  For my salvation, and for my healing?"  The weight of love, and adoration you send to God with two words can be more important than anything you sing to Him. Why?  Because you are taking the time to tell the most high God that you know where the blessing came from, and you are very much appreciate what He's done for you.  It has more meaning than just a praise song without any semblance of thankfulness.

When we sit down to eat, most people will say the blessing (or grace) over the food.  This, too, has become more of a ritual.  Everyone has "their" prayer that they always do, and they will say it and eat.  In my house, my kids ask the blessing on the food more than me or my wife.  What I have tried to teach my kids is that when you pray and ask God to bless our food, don't rush through it and don't recite some words that you've heard and that sound good.  Instead, talk to God differently every time.  This isn't a requirement, but at their young ages, it helps to solidify praying from the heart.

My oldest son will usually start off like this..."Thank you, Lord, for daddy's job, for daddy's Rondo, for mommy's van, for our house, and for our food...." and then he goes on to thank God for our food and asks Him to bless it for the nourishment of our bodies.  Sometimes, he thanks God for our family, his grandparents, and great grandparents.  I believe he has the firmest grasp of truly being thankful!  But more than that...he is usually the first to say thank you, he is quick to say thank you, and you can hear sincerity in his voice.

Imagine how I feel when my son tells me "thank you."  How do you feel when your child tells you, "thank you?"

How does God feel when his children, with heartfelt sincerity, says "thank you?"
 Take the time to tell Him how thankful you are...It will make the difference in your worship, and your life!