Prayer Series 3: Thanksgiving

Continuing on the journey of studying prayer, the Bible states repeatedly to pray with thanksgiving…always…in everything. 

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” - 1 Th. 5:16-18

“giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” - Eph. 5:20

Kids are great at giving thanks in prayer.  While praying, they think of every person they know and look around at everything they can physically see and thank God.  It’s a simple truth that we so easily overlook – every good gift and perfect gift is from above (Jas. 1:17).  The breath in our lungs, the warmth of the sun, our relationships, our heartbeat, the food in front of us, the shelter over our heads, our warm blankets, our salvation, the love of our heavenly Father, His Word, the Holy Spirit…the list goes on and on.

While being more purposeful about thanking God this past month, I had an awesome realization.  When I stop to thank God, I am giving Him the glory.  It’s so easy to take an answered prayer and, without even thinking, turn it into glory for ourselves vs. glorifying and giving credit to God who made it happen in the first place.

The story of the ten lepers in Luke 17:11-19 always reminds me of the importance of saying thank you.  Ten lepers came to Jesus and asked for healing.  Jesus healed all of them from an incurable, terminal illness!  One of the ten lepers realized that he did not say thank you, so he ran back to Jesus and “with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks”.  Jesus healed him spiritually, in addition to the physical healing, because he remembered to say thank you.  You see, God wants to bless us, and He wants to heal us spiritually.  To be healed, we need to realize (and constantly remind ourselves) that it’s God who’s all-powerful, almighty, and all-knowing.  He is the one capable of the incapable.  He is God, and we are sinners.  He formed us, He gives us our breath, our hearts beat because of Him, and any gift or abilities we have are because He prepared us with them to do His will.  Thanksgiving puts us in that position of trust and humility that just doesn’t come naturally to us in our flesh and allows us to be healed spiritually.  Regardless of the circumstances surrounding us at any given time, there are always many reasons to offer thanksgiving to our Lord!

There is another key we all need to grasp about offering thanksgiving in everything, at all times, and that’s during times of suffering, tests, and trials.  Take the time to read Lezli’s blog: “A Year of Suffering” to immerse yourself there.  It will bless you!

“Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!” – Psa. 106:1

Prayer Series 2: Start with Praise!

How should we start a prayer?  For as long as I can remember, I’ve started prayers with “Dear Heavenly Father…”, but why?  Now that I think about it, it sounds like I’m writing a letter or something.  In Matthew 6:9-10, when Jesus teaches the disciples to pray, His model prayer starts with:

"Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven..."

It starts with PRAISE!  Why?  Because we are praying to God.  In the NKJV, Philippians 4:6 says to “let your requests be made known to God,” and Acts 12:5 says “constant prayer was offered to God.”  The KJV says “unto God” in these verses.  Well, aren’t all prayers unto God?  It can be hard to admit, but many prayers are not unto God; they are unto self.  It’s so easy to be caught in the act of “getting” from God by being too quick to lay out our list of needs and petitions, rather than recognizing who we are speaking to in the first place.

In Nehemiah 1:5-6, Nehemiah is grieved by his brothers’ situation in Jerusalem and brings his desperate prayer to God, starting with:

“I pray, Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments, please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now…”

Nehemiah praised God for His power, sovereignty, faithfulness, and mercy.  He approached God in humility as His servant, in awe that the God of the universe lends an attentive ear and has open eyes to his prayers.

In another powerful prayer found in Acts 4:24, when the apostles had been threatened not to speak anymore in the name of Jesus, they prayed together:

"Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them…”

How we address God is important.  Think about it -- we get to communicate with our Creator, the King of all Kings.  How grateful are you that God, by giving His only Son, tore that veil in two so we can have direct access to God anytime, anywhere?  Did you hear that?  WE HAVE DIRECT ACCESS TO GOD HIMSELF!  There are 7.5 billion people in the world, and God loves each of us the same and is capable of lending an attentive ear to each one of us and answering each and every prayer.

When we take the time to recognize God for who He is and what He’s done for us, before we get to our own requests, we put our hearts and minds in a place of humility.  Our problems that seem so big to us, along with the chaos, confusion, and anxiety that accompany them, begin to melt away as we gain the perspective that we are talking to the God of the universe, who is sovereign over everything.  This perspective of God’s greatness, protection, mercy, and love for us starts to cover any needs and concerns we lay at His feet which, in turn, gives us the peace, thanksgiving, and joy He promises.  Nothing surprises Him, and nothing is too big for Him!

An address of praise doesn’t have to be long.  In fact, most prayers in the Bible aren’t lengthy.  Honor Him for who He is -- the God of the universe, your Creator, and heavenly Father.  Also, make it personal!  “Our Father in heaven” speaks to relationship.  He is our Abba Father, and He loves YOU.  Just praise Him!  He is worthy! 

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name." - Psalm 100:4