The Power of a Thankful Heart

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances;for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

It's Not Always Easy to Give Thanks

But this is the very thing we must do in order to see God’s will accomplished in our lives. 

This is how we move into higher realms of faith for ourselves, for our city, and for our nation. When we give thanks in the midst of difficulty, we bring pleasure to God's heart and breakthrough begins. He is looking for people who live in a realm of praise and thanksgiving where the enemy no longer has an ability to hold or manipulate. Satan is defeated when we have a thankful heart because thankfulness during difficulty is a sacrifice pleasing to God. Are you thankful?

Are you thankful for your present circumstances? 

Are you thankful for your salvation, your friendships, and your job? 

Are you thankful for the way God made you?

Thankfulness is a Key to Your Life 

It is the key that turns your situation around because it changes you, your outlook, and your attitude. There is power in a thankful heart. Thanksgiving brings contentment. An attitude of thanksgiving accepts and embraces God’s will. Begin to thank God for all the blessings he has given instead of dwelling on the negative. Discontent dries up the soul. Look at what Elisabeth Elliott, who lost her husband on the mission field and faced multitudes of hardships, says about loving God's will and being content: 

To love God is to love His will. It is to wait quietly for life to be measured by one who knows us through and through. It is to be content with His timing and His wise apportionment. It is to follow in the steps of the Master, as did Paul, who was able to say that he had learned contentment no matter what the circumstances. His circumstances when he wrote that? Prison. No easy lesson, but great gain, which is the sum of godliness plus contentment. (1 Timothy 6:6) 

Look at the Example of Jesus

He followed the will of His Father to the very end. He obeyed without complaint. In Philippians 2:5-8, Paul says that we should have that same attitude. Jesus made Himself nothing and took on the very nature of a servant. He humbled Himself and became obedient to death. We also are to have this same attitude with a humble and thankful acceptance of God’s will for our lives. Jesus embraced hardship without a complaint.

The Duke of Wellington was a British military leader who regretted that he had not learned the secret of praise during his lifetime. He had many great accomplishments and even defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. He was a brilliant and demanding man and when he was older, he realized that there were areas in his life that needed to change. In his old age a woman asked him this question, “What would you do differently if you had your life to live over again?”

He thought carefully and said, “I would give more praise.”

This is a lesson for all of us.

To learn to be people of praise and thanksgiving to God all the days of our lives would be a great accomplishment. There is greatness and happiness in thanksgiving.

“Would you know who is the greatest saint in the world?... It is he who is always thankful to God, who wills everything that God wills, who receives everything as an instance of God’s goodness and has a heart always ready to praise God for it… Could you therefore work miracles, you could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit, for it turns all that it touches into happiness.” —William Law

David writes in Psalm 116:17, 

"I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD." 

Did you know that thanking God for a difficulty is actually an offering that He highly values? You are bringing a gift of thanks to Him. It is so easy to complain. It is so easy to point the finger and find fault. But to come with the opposite attitude and give thanks brings breakthrough and joyful contentment.

How to Practice Thankfulness

Let each of us seek to have an attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving, and rise to a new level of holiness. Here are some ways to practice this attitude in everyday life:

Thank and praise God for everything in your life.

Thank Him for even the difficulties. It is a sacrifice to do this but He can turn troubles into triumph.

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. (Hebrews 13:15)

Don’t allow yourself to complain about anything.

During the difficult times, be very careful to watch your tongue. Instead of complaining, think of ways you can verbally offer God the sacrifice of thanksgiving.

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe. (Philippians 2:14-15)

Don’t compare yourself with others.

Don’t wish your life were different. God knows what is best. The Bible says that having a thankful heart is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. When we begin to thank God for what we have, rather than comparing ourselves with others, it opens the door for God’s blessings.

Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else. (Galatians 6:4)

Most of Us Need Breakthrough in Prayer 

The enemy is fighting hard with fiery darts of discouragement and lies. The way we will begin to deal with the lies and the vicious ways he tries to destroy our joy is through the power of a thankful heart. As we cultivate a lifestyle of worship and praise in the magnificent splendor of God, we will be able to break through the strategies of the enemy. A worshipful and thankful life permeates the atmosphere with the presence of God, because worship is the atmosphere where God’s truth dwells.

These new web sites on prayer will help you grow in your walk with God with an attitude of thanksgiving. They are filled with teaching on every aspect of prayer as well as Houses of Prayer - Intercessors Arise International and Nations House of Prayer Equipping Center.

“God smiles when we praise and thank Him continually. Few things feel better than receiving heartfelt praise and appreciation from someone else. God loves it, too… An amazing thing happens when we offer praise and thanksgiving to God. When we give God enjoyment, our own hearts are filled with joy."  —William Law

7 Things the Most Successful People Are Always Doing

We know if we want to achieve something we have to do something, and maybe the actions you take aren't getting you the results you want, so here are seven things you should start doing for yourself today because they will give the success you want tomorrow.

1. Start taking ownership: Most people have excuses, or need to blame others when things aren't working. But true success happens when we start to take responsibly and stop making excuses, when we start be accountable and we stop blaming others, when we start to say if its going to happen, it will happen because I made it happen. we have to make an effort to stop making excuses, what we must realize is excuses will always be there for you, but opportunities wont.

2. Start being more focused: If you want to succeed, you have to stop being distracted by everything around you and be more focused in what you want to achieve, your distractions are wasting your time, and keeping from being focused. Stay focused and embrace tunnel vision to get what you have to do and get it done. when you focus on what you want everything else falls away. stay focused on whatever you want to do and don't doubt yourself. Focus means we have to follow one course until we are successful. Stop getting distracted by the things that nothing to do with your goals.

3. Start fighting for what you want: when it comes to succeeding, some will succeed because they are destined to but most succeed because they fight for what they want. to be able to achieve something significant you have to be fearless in pursuit of what you want to achieve. and even if nobody believes in what you are doing, you have to do what it takes to make it happen you have to be determined you have to have tenacity. .as we know the difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person who uses their determination. don't be afraid to give yourself everything you ever wanted in life.

4. Start engaging with people you admire: Having people you admire and look up to in your life can be a great resource for learning and motivation. Reaching out to successful people you admire and respect is a wise career strategy. Start hanging out with people who are dependable and reliable, make the relationships around you, people you can admire. Always choose relationship should be based on respect and trust, make sure that their words are matched with actions and deeds. and it means surround yourself by people you admire and respect. If you want to get ahead, one of the best ways to do this is to find out from others how they got there and did it. I don't think that people take enough time to tell people who inspire them what an impact they make on their lives!

5. Start being more disciplined: Discipline gives us the freedom to put all our focus into achieving our goals. But it becomes increasingly harder to be disciplined in a world that is in constant distraction and instant gratification. Sometimes our long- term goals seem to get put off and not made important. discipline is just choosing between what you want now and what you want most. and the truth is anyone who ever made anything important was disciplined.

6. Start making happiness a priority: what is important to you, must be made into a priority, if you don't make what is important to you. Don't waste another second on the things that drain your energy or make you feel fatigued, start noticing what makes you feel happiest and work hard on achieving it. whatever you do make sure it makes you happy. sometimes the things we are most afraid of are the things that make us the happiest. become the person who is in the pursuit of happiness.

7. Start being grateful: feeling grateful is one of the most medicinal emotions we can feel it elevates your mood and it fills you with happiness, if we are going to be successful at this thing called, life, we have to start being grateful for the things that happen in our live, no matter how good or bad each of us has it, you have to make to start making it a practice to be grateful for your life. because the truth is, we often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. life isn't about having what we want. never let the things you want make you forget the things you have.