Monday, March 16, 2015

There is Power in Praise, Give God Petitions of Thanks for All Things (3.16.15)



Good Morning Everyone! 
I shared this message once before, but felt the need to send it out again. 
Hoping and praying that, as always, today's message will bless you.
- Marilyn 
 _____
As Christians, we are taught to pray. 
Too often, however, those prayers are nothing more than lengthy complaint sessions in which God receives an earful of everything that is going wrong in our lives. God, we need a bigger house. God, I never seem to have enough money to pay my bills. GOD, I hate my job. Sound familiar? 

The complaints go up, but little change occurs in our lives.

The Bible says that "GOD inhabits the praises of His people" - Psalms 22:3. 
If you are a complainer, perhaps it is time to turn into a 'praiser'.
GOD loves our praise. God loves to be thanked for the blessings He has already given us. Instead of complaining about the size of your house, why not thank Him that you have a roof over your head? Instead of complaining about not having enough money to pay all of your bills, why not thank Him for being able to pay some of them? Instead of complaining about your job, why not thank God that you have a job?

There is power in praise. The Bible is filled with stories of how GOD inhabits the praises of His people. When Jesus was preaching, and needed food to feed five thousand people, the disciples brought Him 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish - not nearly enough to feed everyone. But just as soon as Jesus raised that food up to Heaven and thanked God for it, it multiplied to the extent that there was more than enough to feed the people (Matthew 14: 13-21). In the book of Job, Job lost everything he had, except for his faith in GOD. Through all of it, He continued to trust GOD, saying that everything He had belonged to GOD anyway. In the end, GOD blessed Job with great abundance that exceeded what he had in the beginning.

A modern day analogy using this principle is one regarding a parent and a child. As a parent, are you more likely to give to the child who is continually thanking you for what he already has, or to the child who is always complaining that what he has, is not enough? It is a joy to give to someone who is appreciative of the gift. Matthew 7:11 says “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

Let every petition you bring to GOD come with a thank you for what He has already done in your life. Make it a habit of continually praising GOD for everything in your life, no matter how small. 

GOD will smile upon you, and blessings will flow.


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