And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. Luke 17:15,16

In ancient times, lepers were social outcasts because of their highly contagious disease. In this passage, ten lepers came to Jesus begging for mercy and He graciously healed them.

These lepers had an awful disease. Their bodies were slowly deteriorating, and worse, they were shunned from their friends and family, forced to live in a community of only those who were also withering away.

Suddenly, merciful Jesus comes along and “poof” the sickness leaves them. How life changing!

These people must have been overjoyed. Now they could go back to their families, their homes, their communities and live normal lives.

But only one of them returned to thank the Lord.

But how often do we do the same?

We get so focused on our blessing and forget about the One who gave it.

Just as the Samaritan returned to Jesus to thank and worship Him who had redeemed his life, we too must thank God—for every good and perfect gift comes from Him. He deserves all the honor and the glory!

One of the cornerstones of effective prayer is entering His gates with thanksgiving and praise.

It’s easy to get caught up in the blessing. God has given us so much. But let’s be sure that we make daily habit of thanking God first!

–by George Whitten