By Sam Nobles
“Enter his gates
with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his
name!” (Psalm 100:4 ESV)
Thanksgiving was at
the heart of Old Testament worship. Sacrifice and offerings were to be made,
not grudgingly, but with thanksgiving (Psalm 54:6). Even entry into the gates and court of
the temple called for thanksgiving to be offered. This tells me that any approach
that we make to God should always begin with praise and thanksgiving; it's how
we enter into His presence, offer our prayers, and discover God’s will in our
lives.
Biblically
speaking, thanksgiving is most often rendered to God for His acts on behalf of
His people (Psalm 119:62), but many times the psalmist calls for
thanks to be given to the Lord “because He is good” (Psalm 106:1; 107:1; 118:1, 29;
136:1). God is good in His
very nature as well as in the expression of that nature through His works;
therefore wherever God is working, God is present and should receive our giving
of thanks.
Every time we pray
we ought to include thanksgiving with our prayers. Philippians 4:6 says, “be careful for nothing; but
in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests
be made known unto God.” Thanksgiving
should always be offered with prayers of supplication. Why? Jesus instructed
His disciples to give thanks for answered prayer before the answer materializes
(Mark 11:24). These are not idle words, but rather essential instructions on how
thanksgiving has an effect on your prayer life.
Thanksgiving is
also the way for a Christian to begin to discover God’s will in his or her
life. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “in everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus
concerning you.” The
moment you begin giving thanks you can have confidence that you are in God’s
will. Therefore, whenever you want to know the will of God concerning any area
the best place to start is with giving Him thanks.
Scripture to Claim:
“We give thanks
to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great
power and begun to reign.” (Revelation 11:17)
