Prayer - Thanksgiving

This should be easy. To thank God. To praise Him for what He has given. I could blog for hours on the history of the goodness of God. His faithfulness to His people is unsurpassed. His graciousness in forgiving sin is amazing. He gives gifts that are common like air, water, gravity and gifts that are uncommon like new hearts, wisdom, joy and patience.

So why do we struggle here? It could be because we really do not understand the magnitude of the gifts or our unworthiness to receive them. It could be because we have so many "lesser" pleasures that our souls are satiated and we can not feel the pleasure of a real gift; it is just something extra but nothing special. Like C.S.Lewis said we really are playing with mud pies in the slum, when we have at hand a holiday by the sea.

How can we move towards thankfulness? A few thoughts. We can give more and have less. We can deny ourselves the lesser things and wait for the greater. Unless we have less, we will not appreciate what we are given. Like the son of a wealthy king has a hard time showing gratitude, so we will struggle if we overindulge. We need to be needy.

Does that seem an odd way to go about thankfulness? I know that I can not just muster it up. I tend to be more thankful when I receive something I really need.

By the way I know that I need Christ most. My new nature desires Him even as my old nature longs to get fat on the things of the world and crowd out any sense of hunger for the richest of food. Gratitude. A work in progress for us I think and one worth working on. Worship Well.