Since last year, I have been listening to Joel Osteen’s podcasts. It is his voice that makes my heart tingle. The moment when his words move me does not choose its location. I give a slight nod of agreement and appreciation and even shed a tear. One of his invaluable messages is to thank God in advance. He suggests that we don’t ask God for what we need but instead praise and thank Him for it.
Joel provides a good example when he promised his daughter that he’ll buy her a car when she reaches a certain age. Rather than ask repeatedly when her father is going to give her the car key, she thanked him every time (in advance) and praises him for being a kind and loving dad.
Now, if you’re the dad, wouldn’t you want to hear these sweet sentiments instead of the constant reminding and begging in a form of nagging to buy her the car? In normal pretenses, I know that most of us would agree.
In the same way, God assures that He’ll give us what we thank Him for at the right time. We just have to take one day at a time and trust Him each step of the way as He performs magic to grant our wish. While waiting, put in mind that He’s busy conforming us continually as He’s not done yet with any of us.
This week has been so much stressful I’m thankful that I had made all work done successfully. I lived through an endless frenetic hustle. Even if I could choose to rest instead of finishing more analysis papers and articles, and even if there was like something facing me at my desk urging to make some excuse to get out of the responsibility, I did a conscious decision to continue forth. I suppose this is because I want to invest my time and efforts to the best of my capacity instead of regretting of not working harder to pay all due duties.
Yes, I don’t have any slight disagreement with the quote “Life is too short to be busy.” But in every hour of these demanding days, I thought that life would only make sense when I finish everything and attain good rewards after. No one has ever guaranteed that this makes sense. I’ll try to make it so.
I have my heart on my sleeve. I can hear each beat. Because of the pressure, every pulse is quickly followed by another one; therefore, I know I’m alive.
I thank God in advance for: MORE QUIET TIMES, THE CAR I WANT TO BUY, SWEET FAMILY VACATIONS, GOOD HEALTH THAT WILL NEVER FAIL ME, MORE PROJECTS UPCOMING and PATIENCE TO WITHSTAND MY CLOCKWORK ROUTINES.
I’m praising God in advance for what is to come and what I know He is able to do.
About Rochkirstin Santos-Sioco
Health and technology freak. Food and lifestyle blogger with a large appetite for food and travel.
It’s right that we thank God for blessings yet to come as they will and you’ll just be surprised how things eventually turn up to be better.
Gratitude shifts your focus from what your life lacks to the abundance that is already present. It’s great to always count your blessings.
Very inspiring one, just like what Paul apostles says in one of his letter to the Corinthians, ‘in everything give thanks’ and to the Ephesian ‘pray without ceasing’. If you do these things then God in His due time will grant your heart’s desire.
Thanks for the reminder. Gratitude is the most powerful magic bullet for a better life that I know. It’s simple, safe, has no side effects and yet is still very powerful medicine.
Whenever God closed a door, He makes sure that a thousand windows would be open for you. I’m sure things would definitely be better in His time. ^_^
That’s what I keep reminding myself and others, too, whenever I’m down. Sigh. God is powerful. Thanks for the reminder, Mark. 😀
I think we should do this more often , giving thanks to the Lord , whether a blessing comes or not… just to be alive the next morning is already enough to be thankful …
Once you become oriented toward looking for things to be grateful for, you will find that you begin to appreciate simple pleasures and things that you previously took for granted. Gratitude should not be just a reaction to getting what you want, but an all-the-time gratitude, the kind where you notice the little things and where you constantly look for the good even in unpleasant situations.
Same here! I just love watching/listening to Joel Osteen’s messages! very powerful message! I praise and honor God too for He is making all our dreams come true!
I sometimes can’t help but cry to his messages, especially when I feel like the words are pointing right at me.
Thank God for all the blessing and praise Him at all times.
Yup. It’s important to take a few minutes in each day to thank Him for all He has done.
such sweet post. we should thanks god for eveyrthing even we’re all facing different problems in our life. xx
My life is fulfilling in all ways, and I am so grateful for all of it. Every single moment. I am so grateful to be alive.
It’s always the determination and patience, that one’s character is measured. Indeed, we should all be thankful to God in advance. Regardless if he’ll ever grant our deepest desires or not. WE should always and still be thankful for what we have now.
When I was younger, I used to complain about everything. As I grew older, I realized that we need to stop thinking about what we don’t have and instead start appreciating what we do have.
Our life alone and our family that is with us right now is the biggest reason to thank GOD in my humble opinion. 🙂 . Gifts and material things and such is just an add-on.
Yup. Feeling grateful puts us back into the ‘Flow of Life’ at the speed of thought. Thoughts become things. When we are feeling grateful and thinking happy, positive thoughts, we create positive situations and we draw happy, positive, grateful people to us.
God has also been good to me, He knows what I need and He provides it. I am so grateful.
Me too. We should just maintain our relationship with Him and share the Word. Brightest blessings and love, Jo-ann. 😀
I didn’t believe the existence of god before. But day after day, I realized that my god is great. I am not worried if he doesn’t give all that I ask. I know that he knows what is best for me. Still, I am thankful to all the blessings that I am receiving. 🙂
That’s great to hear from you, Noks. 🙂 May your belief in Him prosper more.
With or without blessing it is always the right thing to do to praise GOD and thanks for this story!
Nice reminder. Be grateful for what you have, and be grateful for what you are about to have. Don’t think about how or when or through whom it is coming to you – just thank the universe. We are so lucky – we live in a world and universe that is abundant.
That’s a great way to practice gratitude. I sit down at my area before work each day and just thank heaven that I’m alive and well – much more than I can say for a lot of people.
Great habit, Jason. 🙂 There are many reasons why you should take time in your magical workings to thank the universe and the deity. For all the things that are still left undone or lacking in my life, I also have much to be grateful for.
its good listening to praise and worship… when things are sometimes hard, its also hard to find solutions to problems… and the word of our Lord helps a lot during these times. by the way, thanking Him ahead is claiming the things you ask for, and that is biblical. Yahweh bless.
It has been said that God doesn’t put something in front of you that you can’t ultimately handle. Granted, the use of the word God in recovery may rub some the wrong way. However, even if you take that word out of the equation, it still holds up. While there may be problems that are laid in front of us that seem insurmountable, we do have the inner strength, capacity and creativity to overcome.
Amazing. This is the first time I’ve heard of Joel Osteen. I like how he looks at his dreams and wishes as advance gratitudes from God. Sometimes a change of perspective on how we look at things differentiates the quality of life we are going to have. And a life of gratitude sure is a better one that a life of regrets and frustration.
You can also listen to his podcasts. They can be downloaded for free! 🙂
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. Feelings of gratitude turn what we have into enough, and more than enough. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. It helps us makes sense of the past, brings peace for today, and creates optimism for tomorrow.
We always pray to God if we want something. And sometimes, we almost forget to say thanks for every blessings that we have. But I believe, this is where Filipinos are good at. We are always happy and always thankful of whatever we have or whatever’s happening to us. The strong faith and belief.
Nice said. Feeling grateful is the main cause of ‘Sustained Joy’. Focusing on the gifts we have been given is an antidote to envy, resentment, regret and other negative states that undermine long-term happiness. Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.
[…] also muster stronger faith each day in a Power greater than myself. Pouring my sentiments to God and to people I trust will take care of them helps me better […]