Rev. A.J. Ogden

David begins Psalm 103 with a hearty “Thank you Lord,” and continues to praise Him all the way through. Listen to him express his appreciation for all his blessings of today, yesterday, and forever. Psalm 103:1-5, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

A thankful soul is a happy soul, and an unappreciative human is an unhappy person. The happy psalmist found great joy in thanking the Lord for all the blessings which were too numerous to name. You’ll notice he was not even asking for anything more, but praising God for all that he already had.

I believe that we would receive even more from God if we only appreciated to the fullest extent what he has already given us. All of us are blessed more than we deserve. But wouldn’t it be delightful if we would have a “thank you” prayer meeting once in a while? It is alright to ask God for things but some people are always asking and never giving thanks! There is more to prayer than give me, give me, give me.

I want to learn to give thanks frequently for my precious wife, my marriage of 58 years, my two Christian kids, my sweet grandkids, and numerous friends like many of you our there. Let us pray for one another that we will be positive, God loving, God fearing, God worshiping people. Life will not be perfect. The hills and the valleys are real, and we’ll face some hard days, but let us look up to Him who is able to help us. May we, by God’s grace, learn to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.