by Paula Mowery

writerpaula@gmail.com

When was the last time you praised God? Have you thanked Him lately? We are so busy that we often only take the time to give God our "grocery list" in prayer.

Are there people in your life whom you only hear from when they want something from you? As soon as the name appears on the caller id, we roll our eyes and proclaim: "Wonder what they want this time?" These same people tend to take but never show any appreciation. Maybe if they did, we would not resent their calls quite as much.

However, we do the same to God. We pray to Him when in need, and then when He supplies an answer, we never acknowledge it. God is worthy of our appreciation not only for what He does for us, but just for who He is.

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" Psalm 8:3-4 NIV

One look at this world God has made should prompt us, just as the Psalmist, to wonder why God would even care about us. Yet, He does more than care; He wants a relationship with us. He desired that so much that He sent His Son as a sacrifice just for us.

My husband recently preached on this very subject. He notices that we have brought God down to our level. We see Him as "the man upstairs" or maybe as a grandfather figure. We have lost sight of the awe of God.

Getting real with God must mean keeping a proper perspective on who He is and who we are not. He deserves our thanks and praise when He answers prayers and even more so because He is God – The I Am. Take time to praise our God. If you have trouble beginning, David can give you a few pointers in Psalms.

Copyright Paula Mowery