Hearing His Voice #149

Enter [the Lord’s] gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.

Psalm 100:4

An open window not only lets in fresh air, it also lets stuffy air out. An open door not only gives us freedom to go in and out, but it also gives others freedom to visit. Attitudes that open our hearts to give to God also open our hearts to receive from Him. Openness is a two-way street. When we create the right climate within our hearts, we allow God to come to us there.

Gratitude is one of those attitudes that create the right climate. Like a magnet for the divine, thankful hearts draw God’s presence and open our ears to His voice. Psalm 100 tells us to enter His gates with thanksgiving, which means not only that it’s appropriate to come to Him with an attitude of thankfulness, but that such an attitude is also a means for coming to Him. When we bring a sense of gratitude to the gates of God, those gates open for us to enter. Yes, we have access to His throne room through the sacrifice of Jesus and His life within us, but we experience that access much more tangibly when we are saturated in thankfulness. Our position in our relationship with God becomes much less a matter of our theology and more a matter of our experience. And in knowing Him more practically, we hear Him more clearly.

Practice gratitude. Don’t just thank God for the big blessings. Express appreciation for the little ones too. Avoid the tendency to focus on whatever seems to be going wrong and needs to be fixed; focus on every body part that works right, every circumstance that others take for granted, every good taste or beautiful sight that He allows you to enjoy. The more you tell Him why you love Him, the more He tells you the things that are on His heart.

Lord, thank You for Your goodness to me. Thank You for the joy of existing—for the pleasure You provide, the needs You fill, the opportunities You give. And thank You for speaking when I really need to hear.