Reflections on Gratitude

Imagine for a moment that someone you trust has promised to give you a wonderful, extraordinary gift. Perhaps it’s your dream home, a new car or a holiday with lavish spending money. How do you feel? You’re seeing yourself enjoying that gift even though you don’t yet have it, aren’t you? And you’re very thankful and happy and as joyous as you’d be if you’d already received it.  

You’re experiencing the amazing effect of your imagination in a state of expectation, and you’re able to experience that gift as if you already have it. Your mind has accepted that promise as a reality. Notice how you’re experiencing that present as a reality that you can sense - you see it in your mind, touch it, experience it - you’re intensely exhilarated. You’re thankful that you already have what’s been promised.  

What you’ve done here is to perceive just how powerfully your mind has transformed your expectation into a reality. You experience gratitude, and mentally, you are enjoying your extraordinary gift already in a glow of happiness. Now, those very factors produced in your imagination are the principles of effectively receiving answers to your prayers. Gratitude is a powerful force... 

Thanks + Expectation = receiving.  

Science shows that living life in a state of habitual gratitude creates an ‘attraction point’ for anything you need. The grateful heart brings you to an optimal peak physically, mentally and spiritually, regardless of your circumstances, which allows the right life ‘atmosphere’ for miracles. 

Benefits of habitual gratitude.

Are there benefits to cultivating habitual gratitude? Yes! Physically, psychologically, and spiritually. New empirical, scientific, cutting-edge research is exploring the heart's central role in emotional experience, health and healing. By living in sustained, positive emotions of appreciation and gratitude, research shows amazing, beneficial health and performance-related outcomes. This way of living changes the lives of those who choose it. 

Developing habitual gratitude.  

Empower yourself by cultivating an ‘attitude of gratitude’ that saturates your life. It will lift your mood, improve your health and give you an advantage going into prayer. You’re mentally already open and receptive. Thankful expectation is a very powerful technique to receive what you pray for. The thankful heart is always close to our loving Creator, causing countless blessings to flow towards us. It allows you to live joyfully in the moment and releases something your Creator built into you. 

Right now, begin here with... 

Appreciate: Become more aware and appreciative of people who have helped you – list them by name, list the skills they are using, and give thanks gratefully for each of them. 

Thank them and show appreciation in return. Express appreciation to family, friends, and write thank you notes to people making your community a better place. 

Tell someone who served you well how much you appreciate it - better still, let their employer know how good they were as well. 

Gratitude: Imagine yourself walking along a gold-strewn path. If you have a partner, see the two of you holding hands, talking and laughing as you walk. See yourself happy, meeting new people who come up to you and become friends. Feel the sunshine, see beauty all around you, hear the stream trickling and see the water sparkle, see and smell the flowers, the sea, as butterflies flit by. Keep adding to this picture. Hold it in your mind until you experience the emotions. Now mentally freeze frame that picture - it’s going to become your anchor point to creating your life. Visit this image every day. Use this picture of what you would like your life to be with a grateful heart for what is already and what is coming. Speak to God about how you can make it happen and what your part is in making it happen. Do what God tells you. 

Gratitude = anchor point of change. 

Let’s say you need your finances to change. Here’s an easy way to do that. Start with the statement “Thank you, loving creator, for my wealth.” In a relaxed, peaceful manner, say this statement until the feeling of thankfulness dominates your mind and flows out in feeling. Imagine you are addressing the creator’s infinite power and intelligence. Although you cannot see the creative intelligence of the creator, you see with your inner eye of spiritual perception, realising that your thought image of wealth was the first step. By repeating this phrase, your mind and heart generate the place of acceptance - belief and feeling combine to create what you desire. When fear, thoughts of lack, poverty and distress come into your mind, you use the phrase above as your anchor point of change. Freeze frame the thankful attitude of belief and feeling, and your mind will be reconditioned to the idea of wealth. You become open and receptive to opportunities and the voice of God to make it happen. 

Gratitude = expanded connection. 

Thanks to your loving Creator, will allow you experience more of Him in deep, loving ways. Making habitual gratitude the foundation of your life opens you to the vast provision your Creator placed at your disposal. As we develop a habit of continuous, genuine thanks, we create the ‘atmosphere’ for abundance. Making habitual gratitude the foundation of your life opens you to vast abundance and opens your life to opportunity and serendipity. This, in turn, will open new relationships and connections. 

It also changes your disposition to God, to yourself and others, and those around you will pick it up. The positive energy of gratitude will flow and touch everything in your life – it attracts people and abundance into your life and creates the perfect environment for abundant destiny living. 

Gratitude in grief.  

It’s possible to grieve and live in gratitude. And in times of loss or crisis, gratitude can help you navigate that hard time. The power of gratitude in traumatic experiences... There isn’t a more sorrowful loss than that of a loved one. A woman who lost her twenty-year-old son, Rick, who had a promising future, shares her experience on how her changed perspective helped her through overwhelming depression: “I learned something of the power of gratitude following the death of our eldest son... It was such a traumatic experience that I had difficulty overcoming my grief... I felt as if there was a terrible black cloud hanging over my head.” Her natural grieving had descended into a constant, deep depression. She determined to give thanks and to condition her mind with gratitude. “Instead of focusing on what I had lost, I focused on what I still had. Thank you for a husband who loves me. Thank you that we have another son. Thank you that we had Rick for twenty years and our happy memories. Thank you for friends, for a job to occupy my mind during the day...” Each day, she could feel her depression lifting. “This was so life-changing that I continue giving morning thanks today.” Nell W. Mohney, 'Don’t put a period where God put a comma.'  

Gratitude = finding opportunity in adversity.   

You can appreciate even negative experiences by recognising how they can benefit you - the Chinese symbol for crisis incorporates the idea of opportunity. Often, an adversity opens the way for a fresh opportunity if we’re open to it. An example is someone who criticised you – did they point to something you’ve now improved? Did their criticism help you change for the better? Bad turned to good. How we see something affects how we respond.   

Ephesians 5:20 reminds us to "always give thanks for everything. to God." We're not giving thanks for the situation, but for God and what we will learn in the process. Right now, write down the things God’s done for you that you’re grateful for. Spend time in prayer and list those things one by one to God in thanksgiving prayer. Now think of all the people who’ve encouraged, helped or loved you. Thank them and do something for them that will bless them and give them an opportunity for gratitude. It's a small way to spread gratitude around. Here's a short, powerful affirmationfor today: I will saturate my day with gratitude. 

I suggest this book because it will prime your heart for gratitude: 'Rejoice! 31 Daily bible verses on God’s Love for You.' It's a powerful way to start your day in the love of God. This is who He is. He is love, and His love is expressed through His giving. He loves, so He gives. The evidence of that giving fills every corner of our lives. Each day for 31 days, ‘Rejoice!’ brings you a scripture and an inspiring message to uplift your heart and build your level of gratitude for the day ahead. Spending time bathing in the truth of God’s love for you will bring joy to your life and build your faith. Imagine beginning every day anchored in the truth of Scripture, your heart renewed and filled with gratitude because of His love and blessing. Simply click the button for your copy, and please use my free resources and eBooks by subscribing.

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