Give the Gift of Appreciation - It Heals

Mark Virkler's picture

Thanksgiving is a time to remember to be grateful. Take a look at the chart below and note the power of appreciation. Your heart rhythm becomes like smooth ocean waves. How much healing do you suppose that brings to your spirit, soul and body?  Diagram from "Institute of HeartMath"

The Bible Commands an Attitude of Thankfulness 

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father." (Col. 3:15-17 NASB).

"Always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;" (Eph. 5:20 NASB).  "In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thess. 5:18 NASB)

Not only does thankfulness bring health to your heart, it also releases the provision of God into your life. When Paul and Silas were in a tight spot (i.e. had been thrown in prison - Acts 16:23), their response was that at midnight they were "praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them." Wow! Thankfulness in the midst of unjust treatment. Look what this provided: release, freedom, supernatural intervention, and salvation of the heathen (Acts 16:24f)! 

So thankfulness not only heals your heart, it also warms God's heart as He sees that we love and trust Him and call upon Him in faith and belief when the forces of evil appear stacked against us. This brings Him to our side to minister supernatural grace to us. 

A Wound in Our Souls Is Healed When Thankfulness Flows…

People ask, “How can I know for sure that I have forgiven them (or God or myself) from my heart?”

A hurt is healed when I can see the gifts God has produced in my life through the experience.

Since God causes all things to work out for good (Rom. 8:28), I ask God to show me all the good things He has brought forth through this experience, and I journal out His response to me.  I then post this list at eye level, so every day I can say, “God, I thank you for these wonderful gifts you have produced as a result of walking with me through this experience.”

This thankfulness in my heart and soul releases me to receive God’s healing power in my life and opens the path for restoration. Now healing power can flow unhindered into my life and being. Now I can experience healing in my spirit, soul and body.  Now my blockages of anger, resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness and judgment have been removed through a heart of thankfulness, because NOW I am LOOKING ONLY at the gifts God has produced in my life through the experience.

Here is God’s warning from Scripture concerning neglecting joy and gladness and the ways it cuts one off from the flow of God’s grace:

"Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things; and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you. (Deut. 28:47-48)

So every morning and evening we thank and praise the LORD (1Chron. 23:30; 16:4; Ps. 28:7; 54:6-7; 86:12,13; 145:10; Matt. 15:36; Lk. 17:15-19; 2 Cor. 2:14; Heb. 13:15; Rev. 4:9; 11:17)!

Prayer: Lord, may I never grumble or live discouraged, but may I strengthen myself in Your Spirit, always giving thanks in and for all things so that I might glorify You, and Your power, provision and healing might be released in my life.

Daily Exercises in Thankfulness

  • Thank God for the wonderful day.
  • Thank and appreciate those around you.
  • Thank God for His blessings in your life.

At the end of the day, ask yourself, "How do I feel?"

Additional Resources

A Greateful Heart is a Healing Heart - blog exploring heart coherence in more depth 

Counseled By God is a training package which will restore faith, hope and love to your heart and soul so that you can live in a positive mentality, and with thankfulness in your heart to the Lord. 

Counseled By God can also be taken as a CLU college course which ensures that you fully internalize the truths and are transformed by them.


Go Deeper - Get Healthy!

Check out this entire blog series on Vibrant Health! - Miracles PLUS Gifts of Healings. Working through this series on health is ideal for both individuals and groups. The more we take responsibility for ourselves - spirit, soul and body - the healthier we become! Won't you join me in living to at least 100 in vibrant health?


 

Related Resources: 

How to Be Emotionally Free!   Spiritual Transformations   

Related Blogs: 

Healing Emotional Dis-ease   
Add new comment

Comments

Anonymous's picture

I've experienced quite a bit of trauma in the past 15 years.

This past year I've been going to school online for some extra career training, and the experience has been disheartening in the lack of help available from the instructors. I've watched this up and down emotional ride in myself regarding to negative responses when asking for help, and then being made to feel like I'm burdening someone, asking too much of their time, in seeking help from a person who's being paid to help me.

It's been debilitating some days to where I cannot focus on/do school work, etc...and had me at a place of readiness to go seek medication from a doctor in order to be able to handle what life was throwing at me. The diagram/chart helped me see what my heart has been feeling.

I have a strong faith, but have felt unable to rise above at times, and have never experienced this before in my Christian walk. Before heading to the doctors, I'm going to focus more on being thankful, and see how I start to feel.

Thank you for sharing, I was blessed and needed this word from the Lord.

Add new comment

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Results

Results 1 - 10 of 479

Pages

4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice

4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 305 Pages | Retail: $16.99

Have you ever wished you could just sit down and have a long talk with the Lord? Wouldn't it be wonderful to move beyond having a theology that states that God loves you to actually hearing Him whisper words of love into your heart? When you're worried or confused, wouldn't you love to see the situation from His perspective and hear how He wants you to respond?


Price: $14.95

Dialogue with God

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 296 Pages

This top seller for 30 years from Bridge Logos provides a narrative, right-brain presentation of the principles of how to hear God's voice. Especially enjoyable for personal use, it makes a great gift for introducing a loved one to the voice of God. This book teaches the four keys to hearing God's voice in readable style, and also devotes two entire chapters to moving samples of people's journaling (i.e. their two-way dialogue with God).

Price: $17.95
Hear God's Voice Guaranteed Package

Hear God's Voice Guaranteed Package

9 Books | 10 CDs | 10 DVDs | Save Over 20%

Have you ever wished you could just sit down and have a long talk with the Lord? Wouldn't it be wonderful to move beyond having a theology that states that God loves you to actually hearing Him whisper words of love into your heart? When you're worried or confused, wouldn't you love to see the situation from His perspective and hear how He wants you to respond? When things don't seem to be going your way and your prayers aren't answered the way you had hoped, wouldn't it be great to hear Him tell you where He is in the midst of it, and what He is working out in your life? Are you ever just a little bit jealous of others who say with such confidence, "The Lord said...."?

Price: $175.00

How to Hear God's Voice

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 317 Pages

We recommend that you order the newest revision of this book titled 4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice. It includes 95% of the content of How to Hear God's Voice but is reorganized so it fits perfectly with the 10 DVDs on this subject by Mark Virkler. In addition, it gets you started using the four keys earlier in the book and gives you more journaling samples and exercises. Since we have removed the large margins, it is a smaller and less expensive book.

Price: $24.95

Prayers That Heal the Heart - Revised & Expanded 20th Anniversary Edition

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 320 Pages

Prayer counseling that breaks every yoke! Everything you need to experience deep healing of your soul and spirit.

Did you know that you don’t need to be continually plagued by negative thoughts, feelings, pictures or memories?

It is not part of the "human condition" to feel the constant nagging of doubt, insecurity, or anger. No matter what sin you are trying to overcome, what lie you think you’ll always believe, or what traumas your heart has suffered in the past, you will receive total freedom and restoration by praying these prayers in faith. 

Price: $19.95

Twelve Weeks to Spiritual Mastery - Group Coaching

A group coaching experience with Mark Virkler

Because I could not find a Spirit-anointed teacher/coach, I spent ten extremely frustrating years seeking to hear God’s voice!!! Suggestions offered did not help me, things like: “You just know that you know. It is a still small voice. He speaks from your heart.” No one could give me the answer I needed which was: Hearing God’s voice is as simple as quieting yourself down, fixing your eyes on Jesus, recognizing His voice as spontaneous, flowing thoughts and writing down His flow as it is coming. Test what you have written after the flow is done, NOT while it is occurring.

Price: $1,200.00

Counseled by God

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 146 Pages

Have you ever been defeated by negative emotions such as anger, fear, guilt, inferiority, condemnation or depression? Have you tried to fight them off unsuccessfully? Is there an answer that is deeper than simply trying to mentally reason yourself out of these emotions? Is there a way that Jesus can speak a word of life into the depths of your emotional despair and bring healing on a deep level? Is there a form of Christian counseling that begins and ends with the movement of Christ within your heart, rather than simply with the words of man?

Price: $10.95
Hear God Through Your Dreams Workbook Cover

Hear God Through Your Dreams Workbook

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 92 Pages

A newer book has been released that accompanies this workbook: Click here for Hearing God Through Your Dreams by Charity Kayembe and Mark Virkler (featured on Sid Roth's "It's Supernatural", with almost a million views just on YouTube).


Do you often wake up feeling there was a significant message in your dream, but you’re just not sure what it is? Like Daniel and Joseph, do you long to be able to help others understand their own dreams and win them to Christ as you explain His night messages to them? Wouldn't it be nice if you could receive mid-course corrections from the Lord while you sleep? Do you wish you could be receiving divine inspiration, creative solutions to problems, and direction from the Lord during that third of your life that you’re “just” sleeping?

Price: $11.95

Hearing God Through Your Dreams

by Mark Virkler and Charity Virkler Kayembe | 292 Pages

Learn How to Hear God’s Voice, Even When You Are Sleeping

It is always fun to be on the winning team. Well look what God has done with Charity's new dreams teaching. It has taken off like a rocket with a live TV interview on Cornerstone Network and her Sid Roth interview which has almost a million views on YouTube!

Price: $16.99

Everyday Angels

by Charity Virkler Kayembe and Joe Brock 289 Pages

You can partner with Heaven’s angelic hosts!

Do you have guardian angels? Does God want you to know them? Find out what Scripture reveals and how YOU can interact with the company of Heaven!

The supernatural realm permeates our natural world! Therefore, experiencing angels should be an everyday occurrence–we simply need to open our spiritual eyes to their reality and role in our lives.

Price: $16.99

Pages