When You Give Thanks You Get More of God

In Judaism, a berakhah is a formula of blessing or thanksgiving that is recited in anticipation of enjoyment, or of praise in response to gratitude. 

A berakah is imbued with a sense that the person praying is essentially "drawing down" spiritual energy as they pray.  

I find that absolutely awesome.  

Think through this with me.  The idea behind this prayer is that when you feel gratitude for the blessings that you are about to receive... or the blessings you have received... you should offer up that gratitude to God. 

And in return, you draw down spiritual energy that flows into you from the Giver and Sustainer of life, who continually gives without condition, without strings, without reservation.  

Or to put it another way:  We receive God through our many blessings, and when our praises and our thanksgiving flow back to God, God gives us more of God in return.  

The question then arises, "So, what should we give thanks to God for?"  And the answer is quite simple:  Everything.  

We ought to offer our gratitude for all our experiences throughout the day... our pleasures... our pain... the things that go well, and those that don't.  

We also ought to offer our praise for the wonder of Creation, for the people who enrich our lives, and for our bodies, which Scripture affirms are "fearfully and wonderfully made."  

Author and motivational speaker Bob Goff puts it like this:  

When we are intentional about giving thanks for everything we come across, we can't help but feel joy over the pure gift of another day. 

Here's an interesting thought... 

If you spent a good portion of your day just living in gratitude, and silently (or not so silently) offering your prayers of praise to God, imagine the spiritual energy you would be constantly drawing down. 

How would this change your view of the world around you?  How would it change the way you see yourself and others?  It could very well be the difference between a life lived in positivity and hope as opposed to negativity and dread. 

It could be the difference between truly living as opposed to merely existing.  

May you find space today to begin offering your prayers of gratitude and praise for all of the many blessings you've been given by God, and may you receive more and more of God in return.  

And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amen.