Table of Contents
What is the power of gratitude?
In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships. Thanking people can make it more likely they’ll do a kindness again. Gratitude helps us build better relationships. When we feel and express heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to people in our lives, it creates loving bonds, builds trust, and helps you feel closer. Gratitude helps us see God. Gratitude opens our spiritual eyes. There’s a beautiful cycle in giving God thanks: the more we thank Him, the more we see Him working in us and around us. Gratitude helps us sense God’s presence, His personal care and His perfect timing. Gratitude on the deepest level is a reflection, acknowledgment, and acceptance of our worth – to God or other people.
What is the root of gratitude?
The word gratitude comes from the Latin root gratus, meaning “pleasing; welcome; agreeable.” Gratus is also the root of related terms such as grace, gratuity and gratis, all signifying positive moods, actions and ideas. What they found was that gratitude causes synchronized activation in multiple brain regions, and lights up parts of the brain’s reward pathways and the hypothalamus. In short, gratitude can boost neurotransmitter serotonin and activate the brain stem to produce dopamine. Dopamine is our brain’s pleasure chemical. The Gift of Gratitude is an inspirational gift with a dual purpose. It says “thanks for being you” and pays it forward with a feel-good pocket stone to promote gratitude in the life of someone you care about. Examples Of Gratitude Being thankful to the person who cooked for you. Being thankful for your good health. Appreciating the person who cleans your house. For many U.S. Christians, the underlying philosophy behind the Thanksgiving celebration is to offer thanks to God. You don’t realize how fortunate you are to be blessed with abundant food and a loving family. Many people are not that lucky. Thanksgiving gives you an opportunity to express gratitude. He thanked him for providing food (Luke 24:30), for listening to him (John 11:41), and for the opportunity to minister to others (Matthew 14:19, 15:36). Jesus began and ended his prayers with words of thanks and praise to his father and in the Lord’s Prayer he taught his followers to do the same (Matthew 6:9-13).
Is gratitude a gift from God?
Gratitude is a special gift given to us by God. Gratitude is fundamentally about not taking things for granted. It is being thankful for what we have and receive. Thankfulness is a powerful means of drawing near to God. Gratitude is a skill anyone can learn as an alternative to regret and fear. We can focus on the positive elements of our lives with a few simple practices. Providing sincere compliments can help us build relationships and be grateful for others. Cultivating a heart of gratitude means having an appreciation for life in the present moment. It’s counting our blessings, noticing simple pleasures, and acknowledging the abundance already here. When we are truly thankful for what we already have and content with what is – this is enough. The Bible mentions the word gratitude (χάριτι and other variations in Greek) 157 times. It does not appear as frequently as fear not (which is said 365 times), but it appears more than thanks or thanksgiving (mentioned 72 times). Thanksgiving brings incredible restoration. In John 11:41, Jesus gave thanks and Lazarus rose from the dead. As you give thanks, every opportunity that was dead in your life will be restored in Jesus name. Thanksgiving brings total deliverance from all your troubles.
What the bible says about gratitude?
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Thank you, Lord, for the blessings you have bestowed on my life. You have provided me with more than I could ever have imagined. You have surrounded me with people who always look out for me. You have given me family and friends who bless me every day with kind words and actions. And on that day you will say, Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; make them remember that His name is exalted. Praise the LORD in song, for He has done glorious things; let this be known throughout the earth. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships (Harvard Health Newsletter). Gratitude is a very high vibrational state to be in, and a very high mood or energy to experience compared to other moods and energies out there. Gratitude is truly a feeling. From improved physical and psychological health, to relationships, to reducing aggression and enhancing empathy, to better sleep, self-esteem and mental strength—there’s no doubt that gratitude can unlock something powerful within you.
What are the 3 types of gratitude?
Some psychologists further categorize three types of gratitude: gratitude as an “affective trait” (one’s overall tendency to have a grateful disposi- tion), a mood (daily fluctuations in overall grati- tude), and an emotion (a more temporary feeling of gratitude that one may feel after receiving a gift or a favor from … Gratitude involves showing appreciation for the things in life that are meaningful or valuable to you. Taking a moment to notice and acknowledge the things you’re grateful for each day can brighten your outlook, boost your mood, and help you feel more positive in the face of challenges. Rather than a strictly religious perspective, gratitude is a spiritual practice that is considered the “antidote” to many forms of suffering. It consists of the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, and cingulate gyrus. Studies have shown that hippocampus and amygdala, the two main sites regulating emotions, memory, and bodily functioning, get activated with feelings of gratitude.
How does God want us to show gratitude?
SERVE OTHERS In 1 Peter 4:10 you are directed; As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Thus, by serving others you are serving God and showing your gratitude for His work in your life. The parable of the master and servant The point Jesus was making is that when we serve God, we’re doing him no favors. We shouldn’t be looking to hear thanks from him because it is our duty to serve. On the other hand we should be grateful that God has allowed us the opportunity to serve him. Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Psalms of Thanksgiving provide a way of giving thanks to the Lord for his goodness and mercy, to praise God for something He has done for the Psalmist, and to offer thanksgiving in the form of worship.