THANK THE LORD FOR WHAT YOU ASSUME IS YOUR RIGHT- BY SAKEENAH WRITES

I was reading a self-help book of faith and fami6, and while reading, I came across a line that said:

“How ungrateful are you to always demand from your Lord, without giving Him credit for the things He gave you without asking. How ungrateful are you to always demand without appreciating Him for the things He gave you without having to spend."

"How ungrateful are you to always question your Lord for withholding certain things, when you have not even said Alhamdulillah for the things He gave you freely."

That line really hit hard, and it is nothing but the harsh truth. 

We ask God for everything. Big things. Small things. Urgent things. Future things. We ask with confidence, with expectation, sometimes even with entitlement. 

Yet, how often do we pause to genuinely appreciate Him for what He has already given us? The things we never prayed for. The things we didn’t even know we needed. The things He gave us quietly, consistently, mercifully.

Air in our lungs. Sleep at night. Waking up again. Protection from things we never saw. Delays that saved us. Losses that redirected us. Strength we didn’t know we had. Peace that returned after pain. These are blessings, seen and unseen, and He gives them without sending an invoice.

God loves gratitude. He loves appreciation. Not because He needs it, but because we need it. Gratitude softens the heart. It humbles the soul. It reminds us that we are receivers before we are requesters.

When your friend does something kind for you, you say thank you. When your boss helps you, you express appreciation. When someone shows you the smallest favour, you acknowledge it, even though deep down, we both know it doesn’t even measure up to what God does for us daily. 

Yet we thank them like they gave us the whole world. We don’t say, “Well, they didn’t do everything, so why bother thanking them?” No. We appreciate them immediately. Right?

But when it comes to God, the One who truly gives us the whole world and whatever good we experience in it, we rush past gratitude and go straight to demands.

“Dear Lord, give me this.” “Dear Lord, fix this.” “Dear Lord, I want that.”

No, there is nothing wrong with asking. God loves when we ask. But how heavy is a heart that only shows up to request, never to appreciate?

Gratitude is not just saying Alhamdulillah when things go right. It is acknowledging God even when things don’t look the way we planned. It is recognising that even in hardship, there is mercy. Even in delay, there is wisdom. Even in silence, there is protection.

The more grateful you are, the more aware you become of how deeply He has always been taking care of you. And the more you realise this, the less entitled you sound in your du‘ā, and the more sincere you become in your worship.

So maybe today, instead of adding another request to the list, pause. Look around. Look within. Count what you didn’t earn. Count what you didn’t ask for. Count what you survived. Count what you were spared from.

And just say thank You, sincerely, intentionally, consciously.

Dear Lord, forgive us for the times we rushed to You with demands and forgot to come with gratitude. Forgive us for the blessings we overlooked, the mercies we normalised, and the protection we never noticed. 

Teach our hearts to recognise You in ease and in hardship. Make us among those who remember You before they ask, who thank You before they complain, and who trust You even when they do not understand. 

Dear Lord, do not make us ungrateful servants with full hands. Make us grateful servants with content hearts. Amiin.

© SAKEENAH WRITES

-Nigeria