Something really spoke to me the other day in Romans chapter
1, verse 21. It reads like this: "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened" (Romans 1:21, KJV).
I had never noticed that part about "not being thankful"
... and because they didn't honor God and thank Him, their imaginations became vain and their hearts were darkened.
Boy!! That made me want to be very careful to remember to "thank" God.
All of a sudden I realized how easy it is to take the blessings God has given us for granted and "n
ot thank Him" for them. I have started asking God in my prayer life to help me in this area. I'm asking Him to give me a heart of praise and thanksgiving. I've begun to recognize that this keeps our gates open to receive all God has for us.
Then I found another Scripture in 1 Corinthians 2:9 and it reads like this in the Amplified Bible:
"...what eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart
of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed].
I don't know about you, but I want to be in a position to receive all that God has prepared for me so I'm going to keep my gates open by practicing the art of THANKSGIVING!