Thanksgiving needs to be cultivated

Psalm 103 “Bless the Lord o my soul and never forget His benefits….”

Story of ten lepers – only ONE came back.

Derek Prince “Thanksgiving does not come naturally; it must be cultivated.” Cultivation speaks of effort, time spent, effort spent in love.

How much do we take God’s Goodness for granted?

Gratitude evokes a response

1John 4:19 “We love because He first loved us.”

Everything we have is God’s gift to us. 1Cor 4:7 There is nothing that is not a gift to us.

Ignatius of Loyola said: “We will sooner tire of receiving God’s gifts than He will of giving them.” God just keeps giving.

What do we do in our gratitude? It should evoke a response from us. Gratitude leads to action. Ignatius owed God everything, his response was to give God everything.

Ignatius’ prayer: “Take Lord, receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my entire will. You have given all to me. To you Lord, I return it to you, give me only your will.”

Therese of Lisieux said: “It is the spirit of gratitude which draws down upon us the overflow of God’s grace.  For no sooner have we thanked Him for one blessing then He hastens to send us 10 additional favours in return. Then we show our gratitude for these new gifts He multiplies His benedictions to such a degree that there seems to be a constant stream of divine grace ever coming our way.”

Gratitude opens God’s heart and gets our eyes off ourselves.

David Pawson: “Ingratitude was one of the biggest sins in the Bible.”

Ignatius of Loyola: “Ingratitude was the root of all sin.”

Once ingratitude sets in, we can’t see the good in anything. We forget the good.