Come Up Here And See

I love decluttering so my home and life are less crowded and free. 

• Cambridge defines decluttering as removing things you do not need from a place, to make it more pleasant and more useful. 

The Holy Spirit reminded me we should also declutter many items as answered prayers and any form of God’s provision in our lives and say thank you. Too often we receive from Him and forget to verbally say thank you upon the arrival of these precious gifts. When we live in a land of abundance we are prone to take answers for granted and not say thank you. 

We take our spouse, children, or co-workers for granted and never say thank you. More than that how many times have we not thanked God for what He has done or is in the process of doing? 

Just as I would declutter my home and look at each item I need to do that with every answered prayer and say thank you. 

“Derek Prince wrote in “Secrets of a Prayer Warrior” that he believes there are twelve different types of prayer that create a symphony. This symphony is led by the Holy Spirit and the score is the will of God revealed in the Word of God. We are the musicians brought together by the name of Jesus. Thanksgiving is a vocal part of this symphony where we thank God.”    Derek Prince

• 1 Thessalonians 5:8 NASB Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
• Philippians 4:6 NASB Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

“Psalm 100 clarifies the only way to enter God’s presence is with praise and thanksgiving. Derek further explains that without these instruments of praise and thanksgiving, we are almost like the ten lepers crying out from a distance in Luke17:11-19.”         Derek Prince

Jesus heard the ten lepers and healed them but only one of them came to give thanks. The one that came to Jesus speaking thanksgiving was a Samaritan. Jesus asked about the other nine of why they were not thankful. Jesus explained that when we are satisfied, we give glory to God. He also said that the Samaritan had faith and believed that Jesus was his healer. 

• Luke 17:15-19 NASB Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, 16 and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 But Jesus responded and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? 18 Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” 19 And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.”

This truth makes me cry out “Lord I do not want to be like the other nine who did not say thank you. I want to have faith and not shout at You from a distance. I freely want to enter the gates of the Lord and scripture says the only way is by praise and thanksgiving.”

I believe He is telling us we have to be grateful for everything. The difficulty is not only being thankful to the Lord but also appreciating my family, friends, co-workers and even foes. 

• Psalm 95:2 NASB Let’s come before His presence with a song of thanksgiving, Let’s shout joyfully to Him in songs with instruments.
• Colossians 4:2 NASB  Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;
• Hebrews 12:28 NASB Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let’s show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;
• Luke 6:35 NASB  But love your enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil people.

Join me on this journey as I thank the Lord for what He has done. I will be pulling out each drawer for a decluttering process per se so that I do not miss saying thank you for every blessing. I am sure that I will also be asking forgiveness for where I stuffed the answered prayer in a crowded drawer and forgot to be appreciative. 

One way to assist in this process is to read the Word of God consistently so as not to miss one attribute of the Lord. 

Holy Spirit, I ask that You remind me where I need to be thankful to You and others. Show me how to be appreciative, to understand that I am indebted to You, Lord for all that You have done so far. I thank You for refreshing my memory to be thankful especially when I have not been appreciative to those around me. Holy Spirit, continue to work on us daily so that we are being renewed to You and not conformed to this world of entitlement, in Jesus’ name, amen.

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Photo credit to Wilhelm Gunkel