A few days ago, I was in the basement working on my drumming. I was playing a particularly hard song that I had been working on for a while. And I had finally figured it out! I could play the song. I was so proud of myself and happy! But... was I forgetting something?
I'm getting fairly good at drumming. I'm definitely improving, and learning how to do harder and better things, and I'm proud of myself for the work I'm doing and my skills improving. But as I thought about it, I realized I had never even thanked God for the talent He had given me. I wasn't giving credit where credit was due. God gave me my talent for drumming and all my other talents, and I forget that too often. Too often, I make it about me and how I'm the one getting better. But where would I be if I didn't have God blessing me with such a wonderful talent?
I absolutely love drumming. It's my biggest hobby, and my greatest joy. And yet I still forget to thank God daily for the talent he's given me! One of my favorite Bible verses, Philippians 4:6-7, says "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
Praying is not only for asking God for things! When you talk to your friends or parents, you don't only ask for things! How would people see you if you did that? When you talk to God, you thank Him for things he has already done! I forget that way too much. I ask God for something, and He does it, and I say "Yay!" and then I'm done with it. I don't thank Him for giving me everything I need, and even more! I don't thank Him for the things he does for me daily, and I definitely take skills/talents that I've had all my life for granted.
God has done SO much for me! I'm so incredibly blessed, but since I live a privileged life and haven't ever experienced need, I take it for granted! So this week during my prayer times, I'm going to especially focus on thanking Him for all He has done.
"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name Christ Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." -Colossians 3:17