1 Kings 3:4-5
4 The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
NIV
- To appreciate is to judge rightly the value of something.
- To appreciate is to put a high value on someone or something.
- Appreciation is recognition of the value or significance of something.
- Appreciation means proper understanding and recognition showing pleasure in what has been done.
To appreciate God therefore, is to judge rightly the value of the work of God in and for your life and to your pleasure what has been done. It is to place a high value on the mercies shown you by God and respond with thanksgiving, praise, gifts, consecration and service. It is the value you place on what God has done that determines how you thank Him and what you use to thank Him. Without a proper evaluation of the mercies and favours of God on your life and family, you cannot place a great value on His works and help and show enough gratitude to move God to do more.
Appreciation helps you value God’s works in your life. Appreciation leads to gratitude.
A study of King Solomon’s life shows how appreciation and gratitude commands the respect of God and opens doors for more blessing and favour. When Solomon became king in Israel, he evaluated what God did and showed his gratitude by sacrificing a thousand burnt offerings to God. He appreciated the fact that God made him the tenth son of king David the man to sit on the throne after his father David. He realized it shouldn’t have been him if not for God’s mercy, grace and favour.
In 1 Kings 3:4-5, Solomon showed his gratitude to God by sacrificing unto the LORD a thousand animals. In 1 Kings 4:20-34, the scriptures gave an account of the level of blessing God gave Solomon in response to his great gift of gratitude. The wisdom, wealth and honour accorded him was recorded for all to see how God responds to those who show gratitude for His blessings on their lives. Solomon again, after completing the temple he built for the worship of his God, sacrificed extravagantly to God to reflect his new level. He did not give as he did when he first became king. He gave according to his new spiritual and material level. It was really extravagant. He gave twelve thousand cattle, one hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. God responded by granting all his prayers concerning the temple.
1 Kings 8:62-63
62 Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the LORD. 63 Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the LORD: twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the temple of the LORD.
NIV
- Every act of appreciation and gratitude command respect in the presence of God.
- If you appreciate God for his blessings, your blessings will appreciate.
- Appreciation gives birth to gratitude. And the depth of your gratitude determines the height of your altitude.
- Appreciation is a thing of the heart. It is commendable and provokes greater blessings from God. Appreciate (evaluate rightly) what God has done and show quality and commensurable gratitude.
- Appreciation is the forerunner of greater blessings – it makes ways for the salvation of God.
Psalms 50:23
23. He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.”
NIV
If you want God to keep blessing and lifting you in all areas of your life, learn to appreciate God on a regular basis with all your heart. Keep showing gratitude and you will always come back with testimonies.
I pray that you will place a great value on the works of God in your life and show gratitude to God always, and that your thanksgiving will be in accordance with your new level and value placed on what God has done in Jesus name.
Apostle Sylvester Onyemalechi
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