Latest / Arise Women of God / How Do I Thank God For Answering My Prayers?
Transcript
- 0:00Have you ever prayed with everything you have for a miracle, a healing, a financial breakthrough, or a child's safety?
- 0:08And then once the answer came, you simply moved on to the next problem.
- 0:13We are often so fervent in our please but so forgetful in our praise.
- 0:20Perhaps you may be wondering, how do I thank God for answering my prayers?
- 0:26Because you want to be more than just a person who asks.
- 0:29You want to be a woman who recognizes God as the giver in every detail of your life.
- 0:36Well, my friend, you are in the right place.
- 0:38By the end of today's episode, you will understand the 10th leper principle and how a simple shift to gratitude can heighten your ability to feel God's spirit.
- 0:49We're going to help you solve spiritual amnesia by sharing stories of hospital room journals and children who thanked God for light bulbs.
- 0:58We're moving from he helped me to he is here with me and I'm so thankful.
- 1:04Stay tuned.
- 1:05Ordinary Women Extraordinary Faith When God calls, we say yes.
- 1:12The Arise Women of God Podcast hello, and welcome to another episode of the Arise Women of God podcast.
- 1:19I'm your host, Tamara K.
- 1:21Anderson.
- 1:22And joining me today is the thoughtful and well spoken Carrie Angewerden, a member of our Women warriors of Light Advisory board.
- 1:30And today we are diving into a neglected part of the prayer loop, the thank you.
- 1:37First, we're going to take a look at the story of the 10 lepers, why only one returned to the Savior, and how we can be that one.
- 1:44Second, I'll share a story of a tiny spiral notebook and a major car accident that taught me how to find gratitude in the middle of a hospital room.
- 1:53Third, we're going to talk about childlike acknowledgment, why God smiles when we thank him for the carpets, the blankets and the light bulbs.
- 2:03And finally, Carrie is going to explain the ultimate thank you, why acting on the promptings he gives you is the greatest gift you can offer back to heaven.
- 2:13But first, let's start with this amazing story in the Bible, the story of the ten lepers.
- 2:19There were ten of them begging Jesus to heal them, and then he heals them.
- 2:24Go, go show yourselves to the priest.
- 2:26They're healed on the way.
- 2:28And only one comes back.
- 2:31Only one.
- 2:32And I think that part pricks my heart a little bit because I'm like, am I only thanking him one time in ten?
- 2:39Do you know what I mean?
- 2:40For the blessings and how he's showing up in my life.
- 2:44I don't know.
- 2:44Carrie, thoughts on this?
- 2:46God wants to hear it.
- 2:47He loves us so Much.
- 2:49And he wants to bless us, and he's always blessing us, and he will continue to bless us.
- 2:55But just like you or I want to hear thank you for the things that we've done.
- 3:00You know, as a mom, how many times have you just done the same thing over and over and over, and you never get a thank you for it, right?
- 3:09He just wants to hear it.
- 3:10He just wants to know that we are acknowledging the things that he has done.
- 3:17And what I have witnessed in my life is that when we show that gratitude, it opens up a world for us that we won't know otherwise.
- 3:29And pray it.
- 3:31Pray your thanks.
- 3:33We don't want to be one of the nine who walked away.
- 3:36It starts with being intentional at the end of the day and then having gratitude even when we're in the trenches.
- 3:44I'm also remembering a time in my life when you would have thought I wouldn't have been grateful, but I was.
- 3:50I was in a terrible car accident years and years ago.
- 3:54I ended up in the hospital for the next week and a half healing from that car accident.
- 3:59And my husband brought me my little journal.
- 4:03We were getting ready to move, and it was like a little spiral notebook that was probably 3 inches by 5 inches.
- 4:10It was just tiny.
- 4:11And I looked back and I had just kind of started scribbling in that right before the accident happened.
- 4:18And I asked him to go get it for me.
- 4:20And so many of those first pages were full of things I was thankful for.
- 4:29I was thankful I was still alive.
- 4:32I was thankful for little things that happened at the hospital, nurses that were kind and all these things.
- 4:40And I could have easily just been angry and complaining, and yet I was thankful.
- 4:48And things were not working out.
- 4:51One of my lungs was having problems staying re inflated, even though I had a chest tube in there.
- 4:56And there were things that I had to learn about talking to God, but I was so thankful.
- 5:04And I look back on that time in my life and think I need to remember this younger version of Tamra and follow my own example, to thank God even, and especially in the hard times, because there's miracles in
- 5:21those hard times, too.
- 5:23If we can find things to be thankful for in a hospital bed, we can find them anywhere.
- 5:28And sometimes we just need to take a page out of our children's book.
- 5:33I remember one of my kids who used to spend 90% of his prayer listing every object in the room as we were talking about gratitude.
- 5:43I remember when one of my kids was really little, they went through this phase where in their evening prayers, they would say everything in their evening prayers that they could possibly think of.
- 5:55And so these prayers were like 90% gratitude.
- 6:00And they were long prayers for a little kid.
- 6:02And I remember at times I'm just like, oh, here he goes again.
- 6:05You know what I mean?
- 6:06But I could almost feel heaven.
- 6:11Sorry.
- 6:12Smiling down on that sweet little soul.
- 6:15And it was like God was like, I love this child of mine.
- 6:19I love that he wants to thank me for light bulbs and carpet and pillows and blankets, and everything that he could possibly think of was in that evening prayer for years.
- 6:33I honestly feel like it's so awesome when somebody thanks us that I can imagine God just pouring down love and blessings on that child while he was saying those sweet little prayers.
- 6:49And why would it be any different with us?
- 6:52God loves when we notice the small things.
- 6:54But now Carrie is going to share a point that I think is one of the most profound ways we can share our thanks.
- 7:00It's the transition from feeling grateful to acting on that gratitude.
- 7:06And so journaling, for me, is a big thing.
- 7:09I have started a practice of trying to seek out ahead of time what I need to speak with God about.
- 7:19But then as As inspiration comes, remembering each time he brings something to my mind.
- 7:27Oh, thank you for that thing.
- 7:30And then saying, is there more?
- 7:32Is there more that you want to share with me?
- 7:34Oh, thank you for that.
- 7:36Is there more?
- 7:38But allowing him to change us, I think that's one of the.
- 7:44The greatest gifts we can give to God is acting on those things that he gives us in the moment.
- 7:52Number one, write them down so that you know what those are, and then act on them.
- 7:59And as those things keep coming, continue to act on those things.
- 8:05What greater gift could he have than for you to start fulfilling those things that he has asked you to do?
- 8:15I know for my.
- 8:16For me as a mother with my own children, when I have guided my child to do something, when I see the outcome of that, when they follow what I've told them, I know it means so much to me.
- 8:31And I imagine our Heavenly Father is just the same.
- 8:36Gratitude isn't just a polite gesture.
- 8:38It's a spiritual bridge.
- 8:40Whether you're writing in a tiny spiral notebook or thanking him for the sunrise, you are making yourself seen by the One who has always seen you and is showering down blessings, whether we see them or not.
- 8:54To help you turn gratitude into a lifelong habit of learning to hear him, we invite you to download our free roadmap to revelation, which includes six steps to hearing God in your daily life.
- 9:06And listen to the the Bundle audio meditation that goes along with it help set you up for receiving light and revelation.
- 9:13These are available for free in the link below.
- 9:16One of the principles in this download is to write down and record things that we receive from God.
- 9:23And we can also write down and record those miracles and blessings that we also notice, so that you never forget the little miracles that you have already received.
- 9:34So my friend, go thank God for three things today, even if it is just light bulbs.
- 9:39For God loves those who acknowledge his hand in all things and is ready to shower down more blessings upon them.
- 9:46So my friend, till next time may you arise.
- 9:49Do it God's way.
- 9:50God strong.