Monday, November 21, 2016

Give Thanks

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)

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