The Invincible Power of Gratitude*

Positive Confession. Praise. Faith. Charity. Is there any facet of Christian life that is not based upon one's gratitude? God desperately loves us; is not our most basic response gratitude for that love? Does He want from us faith, praise, or gratitude? We are to seek God with our whole heart, and to love Him with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength. I would say this is to be grateful. You do not seek someone or love someone with praise. You are grateful for them. You appreciate him or her. Someone takes your punishment, dies in your stead, forgives you, gives you eternal life, and raises you to godhood. Yes, you love that person, praise and worship that person, because you appreciate it. You are grateful. As someone unable to express such things recently said, "Just think about it." Isn't our appreciation of Christ the dunamis of our devotion to God?

I think most of my readers are fans of Neville Goddard and are looking for ways of implementing his techniques of prayer, of "manifestation." Central to these techniques is the teaching of Jesus in Mark 11:24 (KJV), "Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." What do you feel when you receive? Gratitude. Gratitude is recognition of a reality, the reality of the PERSON you are receiving from. Then comes the praise and the worship.

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*See James R. Swanson, 1986, The Invincible Power of Praise: God's Secret for Wholeness and Blessing, Diamond Bar, CA: Uplift Books.