Thankfulness 2

I don't have any profound thoughts, just an experience to share with the 'ether'.

I've been privileged to find a Spiritual Director, something that has been a great help to me since I started in formal full-time ministry in September 2006. I remember that at our first session, we talked about thankfulness to God. After years of studying, I was feeling incredibly thankful for the privilege of being a full-time minister.

The theme of thankfulness came full circle at my last 'session' with my Spiritual Director when I said that God had put in on my heart to ask for the grace of thankfulness and to try to cultivate thankfulness. So this is something that I have been praying about.

Now I don't know how prayer 'works' and I don't know how this sort of prayer 'works'. Some may say that this kind of prayer - praying for a thankful heart- is simply a matter of mind over matter, or visualisation; they might say that praying for thankfulness is an indication of already being thankful. I don't know. I don't quite see it that way.

All I know is that, at the moment, God has opened my eyes to all sorts of things to be thankful for. This is not a 'knowledge thing'. It's a 'heart thing'. And I know that we can't always base our faith and our trust in God on feelings. But right now, I'm thankful to God for a sudden wave of thankfulness.