A line from a Puritan prayer, read years ago, comes rushing back into my thoughts:
“Father, You have given us so much. We ask for one thing more””a thankful heart.”
There is a big difference between giving thanks and having a thankful heart. A thankful heart will be filled with gratitude. It will be a heart which is thankful for Who God is and for what He has already done – even if He were never to do another thing.
With Thanksgiving about a week away, my desire is to have a thankful heart. A heart that has no room for grumbling as we cannot be thankful and grumble at the same time.
God bids us to come into His Presence:
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.” (Psalm 100:4, NLT).
The gates referred to in this verse were the gates that lead into the temple area. Worshipers had to come through those gates in order to participate in public worship.
“They [the people] must come into his courts with praise. This is a highly charged command that calls for a wholehearted response. Authentic praise should be permeated with much thanksgiving to God, recalling the abundant blessings that have come from him. Worshipers should live under the constant theme of gratitude to God.
Holman Old Testament Commentary, Psalms 76-150, page 135
The question before me is:Â “Am I living under the constant theme of gratitude to God?”
Sure I express gratitude to God. I give thanks to God. But is it the constant theme of my life? Is it the constant theme of yours?
Constant…..
- not changing or varying from day to day or from circumstance to circumstance
Constant…..
- continuing without pause, without letup
Constant…..
- regularly recurrent, continual and persistent
Constant…..
- faithful, unswerving, devoted
Constant…..
- steadfast, resolute to do
God gives us a prompt in the next verse to get us started, just in case we need a reason to give thanks.
“For the LORD is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.” (Psalm 100:5, NLT).
I want a heart that is grateful to Him.
A constantly grateful heart.
May gratitude be the theme of my heart.
Today I am joining … Porch Stories and Let’s Have Coffee and Woman to Woman and Recharge Wednesday .
I love the simple Puritan prayer at the beginning. Yes, consistency is my goal, too. I long for a grateful heart – one with no room for petty jealousy or complaining. I have so many blessings. Thank you for the reminder!
This is so perfect for me, because I depend on God to sustain a spirit of gratitude. What a sweet and simple prayer for this season.
This puritan prayer has so stayed with me for years. A sustained and continuous state of gratitude. Blessings, friend!
One thing more…a grateful heart. Beautiful! Thanks for this, Joanne. May I go forth into the rest of my day with that grateful heart.
I think i want to adopt that Puritan prayer! love the simplicity of it. acknowledging all that you do have and just being grateful for it!! thanks
Although I read the prayer years ago, the line has stayed with me and makes its way back into my thoughts each year. May you have a blessed Thanksgiving!