A Prayer to be more grateful by Victoria Rielano, read by Leah Martin.

I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart.

I will tell of all your wonderful deeds, Psalm 9.1.

As a parent, there have been many moments I felt used.

With each child bringing their list of wants for their birthday or everyday life, I

wonder if they really appreciate me or just love what I do.

If I make them happy enough, I'm usually greeted with a thank you for my older children.

My younger ones, however, tend to grab their occasional gifts with a burst of excitement

and forget to say thank you unless they're prompted.

There's a sense of, I deserve this written all over their faces in these moments.

In Psalm 9.1, David writes of sincere gratefulness.

He states that he will thank the Lord with all his heart.

Half-hearted thankfulness or a simple acknowledgement isn't enough.

Not only does the Psalmist thank the Lord with his whole heart, he commits to tell all of

God's wonderful deeds.

In other words, he just can't withhold sharing how much God has done for him.

His heart explodes with the opportunity to share the good news of God's goodness.

Even more so, David recognizes that to receive from the Lord is an honor.

If I'm honest, I've been guilty if not being as grateful as I should be.

Instead of coming to the Lord humbly with a heart of thanks, I've come with an attitude

of entitlement.

In my mind, of course, I deserved a blessing.

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