Gratitude gets God’s attention.While we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here in Ireland, I was reflecting today on how important gratitude is to God.When Jesus healed 10 lepers, only one returned to give thanks. Jesus response was: “Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise …”. He was amazed at their lack of gratitude.Then he said to the one who did give thanks, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

Think about this. The other 9 had already been healed yet the one who gave thanks was the only one who was told “your faith has made you well.” In other words, he received a deeper experience of healing and wellness than the other nine. 90% of them missed a special blessing Jesus had reserved for the one with a grateful heart.

I wonder what blessings we miss simply because we take things for granted and fail to give praise for all God has done for us and what He has given us.

Gratitude is a little thing that can make a big difference in our lives. It is something that we feel, but it also must be expressed in some tangible or verbal way. Gratitude is also a “gateway” spiritual practice. Psalm 100:4 commands us, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.” In other words, as we seek to encounter God, everything begins with thanksgiving and praise.

Take time today to express your gratitude to God. You’ll discover that God is drawn to Your thankfulness and a greater miracle than you even hoped for could be made available.

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Luke 17:11-19

“Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him - and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

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Psalm 100:4

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.”

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