Giving Thanks to God!
Enter God’s Presence with Thanksgiving!
We enter God’s gates with thanksgiving for what He has done for us and into His very presence with praise for who He is: “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations” (Psalm 100:4-5).
Thank God for Fellowship as One Body!
I thank God for the fellowship with saints in the Body of Christ: “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful” (Colossians 3:15).
It is God’s Will to Give Thanks!
Let us give thanks to God in every situation however challenging it may be: “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (I Thessalonians 5:18).
Thank God for the Effectiveness of God’s Word in Believers!
We are thankful as shepherds of God when the Word of God we share is truly received, believed, and acted upon: “That you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. For this reason, we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe” (I Thessalonians 2:12-13).
Walk with Christ Abounds with Thanksgiving!
Our walk with Christ demands that we are rooted and built up in Him in faith and abounding with thanksgiving: “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:6-7).
Thank God for His Provisions!
Let us thank God for His provisions for it is He who will multiply the fragments we have to meet all our needs: “And when he had said these things, (Paul) took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all; and when he had broken it, he began to eat” (Acts 27:35). “And (Jesus) took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19).
Fellowship Sparks Gratitude and Gratitude Brings Courage!
Paul was comforted when he saw the brethren and thanked God with the knowledge that he was not alone: “And from there when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage” (Acts 28:15).
Your Communication with Thanksgiving and Worship!
When we develop a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving, our communication becomes a melody in the sight of God: “Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:19-20).
Thanksgiving Enhances Continuous Prayer!
A vigilant and diligent prayer is rooted in thanksgiving as an integral part: “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2).
Heaven is Filled with Thanksgiving!
A heavenly throng sings praises and offers thanksgiving to God always: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 7:12).
Heaven Comes Down to Your Place of Worship with Thanksgiving!
When the singers and musicians were filled with praise and thanksgiving during the dedication of Solomon’s Temple, God’s glory came down as a cloud and filled the sanctuary so intensely that priests could not stand to minister: “Indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying: ‘For He is good, for His mercy endures forever,’ that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud so that the priests could not (stand to minister) continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God” (II Chronicles 5:13-14).
Offer Prayer and Supplication with Thanksgiving! Finally, whatever petitions we offer to God when we begin to thank and worship God, God’s presence surrounds us and fills us with peace. We then offer our petitions not with anxiety but with the assurance that God who hears us will most definitely answer our petitions: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
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John Jeyaseelan
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