Day Seven: Pray with Gratitude
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matthew 6:13 NKJV™)
Honesty in Approaching the Lord
How do we express our gratitude to the Lord for all He does? How do we say ‘thanks’ to the Lord in a way that really has meaning? Is there any way we can really acknowledge everything He does in our lives? The Prophet Micah contemplates this issue when he asks:
“With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself down before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” (Micah 6:6-7 NKJV™)
Clearly this escalating list of ‘gifts’ to the Lord are not what He is looking for. Rather as we continue to read from Micah, we read,
“He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6: 8 NKJV™)
The best way to express gratitude to the Lord is to live according to His precepts – to walk humbly with Him. This is the concept that is reflected in the closing words of the prayer: “Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.” People with a humble heart recognize that any gifts they have flow through them from the Lord. To the extent that one eliminates any distractions that interfere with that flow, their gifts are increased.
To the degree that a person truly recognizes that all of life—(the kingdom, the power, and the glory)—is from the Lord, he/she will experience deep contentment and happiness. This inner joy is a deep gratitude that the Lord truly provides all that we need to be happy.
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