Thanksgiving Season

WITH THANKSGIVING by Tim Beck
 
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”  Philippians 4:6
           
 Near the end of her life, Frances Ridley Havergal, daily jotted down on a little calendar something she was thankful to God for.   This was her way of thinking about thanking.  I’ve been thinking a lot about thanking myself.  One of the main reasons I believe many prayers go unanswered is due to the fact that we are missing the main ingredient.  The great apostle stresses thanksgiving to us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 by saying, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  Paul would also remind the believers at Ephesus to, “address one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Did you know that there are around 138 verses in the Scripture that speak of thanksgiving alone?  Imagine, what would happen in our lives if “thanksgiving in all circumstances” would take center stage in our hearts and thoughts?
           
 Lately, I’ve been hearing a lot of people quoting Philippians 4:6, but this is what they are saying, “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God.”  Did you catch that?  Read it again!  “With Thanksgiving” is being left out.  Oh and let me say, thanksgiving is also missing from our prayer times, church services, fellowship gathering, etc.  You know it’s true!  When was the last time a testimony service ruined a normal service in your congregation?  And let me add… a true testimony service!  When was the last time you entered your prayer closet thanking God, continued to thank God during your prayer time and then, exited your prayer closet thanking God?   As I type this article, God reminded me of a time when my wife and I were having a quick lunch together.  We sat down and I was in such a rush, my prayer went something like this, “God bless this food.  Sanctify it and let it be nourishment to our bodies.  In Jesus name.  Amen.”  After I concluded my brief prayer, my wife, Bethany spoke up and brought to my attention that I did not even thank God for the food.  Could it be the reason our prayers never reach the throne of grace is because we have failed to mix in the main ingredient?
 
Beloved, our prayers and supplication must be mixed with thanksgiving.  It is thanksgiving that makes the difference!  I firmly believe it was thanksgiving that protected Daniel in the lion’s den!  I’m convinced it was thanksgiving that caused the fourth man to show up in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego!  Yes, I’m persuaded that it was thanksgiving that brought David back to his throne and helped him secure his kingdom once again!  The Psalmist would sing, “We give praise and thanks to You, O God, we praise and give thanks; Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near and they who invoke Your Name rehearse Your wonders.”  Psalm 75:1.   He said those who invoke or summon the Lord are the ones who rehearse His wonders or are thankful.  Thanksgiving must once again be awakened in our prayers, services, fellowships, and conversations.  If we’ve ever needed to invoke the Lord, it is now but it will only happen through thanksgiving.
           
 Jesus tells us in Matthew 21:22, “And whatever you ask for in prayer, having faith and [really] believing, you will receive.”  Faith and believing shows up in thanksgiving!  In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make your request known to God.  As we pray, we need to enter in with thanksgiving and conclude with thanksgiving.  We need to thank God that need is already met in Jesus’ name!  We need to rejoice in advance for the miracles that are about to overtake us!  Faith celebrates the victory in the midst of defeat.  Believing shouts, “God is in control”, even when it looks like our circumstances are in control.  Thanksgiving steps up and steps in applauding God in all situations, because we know that He is faithful and His mercy endures forever!  We need less supplication and more thanksgiving!  Try it.  You’ll see a difference!  I promise.