A Thankful heart is a grateful heart

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 NIV  Bold letters my addition

Principle: A Prayer Warrior is super saturated in Thankfulness.

At the end of May 2015, I heard the words that you are never quite ready for…”your position is terminated! Our finances can no longer sustain a local staff presence.  You will have 1 more month.”  I had spent the previous two years as a morning radio show co-host with Moody Radio.  During that time, I led our church to merge with another congregation in order to devote myself full time with Moody.  Now Moody would be gone and I had no other job.  I could have spent a lot of time complaining and worrying.  But I knew that the words coming from my mouth would frame the direction for our lives.  Not the exact words but my initial prayer and comments went something like this. 

“God, I have no idea how you are going to provide for my family.  I want to be angry with Moody.  But I trust YOU!  Thank you for the privilege to encourage and pray for so many people over the radio.  God, bless Moody as they try to navigate their resources and impact.  Thank you for the friends that I have made during that time.  Thank you for your provision that is already established for my future.  I am free to be used how every you see fit.” 

Pam and I have continued to minister in and to the city of Tuscaloosa as bi-vocational ministers.

Thankfulness and complaining are mutually exclusive.  You can’t do both at the same time.  Our world has much to cause us fear and worry.  Our inability to know the future about anything can cause us stress…how are your finances going to work out?, is your health going to get worse?, who will take care of you when you are old?, will my kids turn out okay?, will my spouse remain faithful?, and will my job satisfy and sustain me?

So, how can you cultivate a thankful heart?

1.   Thankfulness is not just being optimistic, it is outward expression of gratitude.  Optimism is just hoping things work toward you favor, thankfulness is grateful regardless of the outcome.  Optimism just looks for the bright side, thankfulness grows stronger from every experience.  Optimism tries to bypass the current situation, thankfulness acknowledges that all things work together for the good of God’s children.

2.   Thankfulness is not only an attitude of the heart, but it is a vocalized expression.  When we give our children a gift, we can tell their immediate excitement by the smile and joy on their face.  But when they say, “Mom, thanks for remembering that I love butter fingers, you are the best”, we know that they are expressing thankfulness.  We also need to listen to our words.  How often do we repeat out loud “Thank you, to others”?  Make it a challenge to incorporate words of thanksgiving into your vocabulary and prayers.

3.   When our starting place about life is that we deserve nothing, then there is a multitude of things to be thankful for every day.  If you are alive and reading this, God has blessed you.  He has plans today that are good for you to give you a hope and a future.  Thank God for the Bible, for your ability to read it, for God’s ability to speak to us through the written words, for the people who took time to translate it, for the person who gave it to you as a gift, for the opportunity to read it freely, for a desire to memorize the words, for the way that God reveals who He is and what He is like.

4.   Gratefulness is expressed with Thankfulness

These are the Lyrics from Veggie Tales encouraging kids to be thankful,  Pretty good advice

I thank God for this day,
For the sun in the sky,
For my mom and my dad,
For my piece of apple pie!

For our home on the ground,
For His love that's all around,
That's why I say thanks every day!

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart!
I'm glad for what I have,
Thats an easy way to start!

For the love that He shares,
'Cause He listens to my prayers,
That's why I say thanks every day!

Father, thank You for never leaving us nor forsaking us.  We have troubles that come our way and troubles that we have place ourselves in, yet, you continue to help us.  Thank you for your love that is real.  Thank you that you know our every need and have promised to help us.  Thank you that Jesus took our sin upon himself so that we could be free.  Help me to be a thankful person every day and in every way.  In Jesus name, Amen