Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6
Gratitude is a feeling or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive. On the other hand becoming worried over anything is easy to do because men are concerned with things that affect their life. Why do we worry about things which very seldom materialize and do more to put our minds in turmoil? Being anxious creates distressing conditions for you to correct and supplies the reasons that put what little hope you have out of your reach.
It is not a sin to be concerned but to be concerned with the things that could go sour but it is foolishness and a waste of time to worry over them. For the most part people plan their work to be successful. Worry is counterproductive by telling you that certain parts of what you planned will go wrong and you will lose face in front of those who respect you.
For the Christian, worry is a tool of Satan that disrupts your communion with God. Your thoughts can create man-made problems that prevent the love God has for you being known when God’s desire is to help. Ultimately anxiety stifles your trust in God and any hope anchored in his promises.
The bible tells us to place your minds on things above, not on earthly things (Colossians 3:2). Think upon the promises of God and his goodness then partake in them. Thoughts of anxiety rob you of peace but the promises of God give you hope for tomorrow. The solution is to learn the promises of God and be confident in your mind that you will receive what you ask for.
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15
Making our prayers known to God with thanksgiving is a behavioral principle and a gracious consideration that recognizes the gift God has given to us, not because we received what we asked for but for his thoughts for supplying something we needed. Anxiety stifles our memory that God is capable of exceeding our demands beyond our imaginings (Ephesians 3:20). Nonetheless thanksgiving is defined as expressing our gratitude for favors and mercies received.
Parents teach their children to be courteous by thanking the person for the gifts they receive from them. When we think about thanksgiving good manners are appreciated because being polite shows respect for concern others have for your wellbeing. Thanksgiving is expressing our gratitude for the grace of God that gave the promised gifts we asked for in prayer.
It could be said that thanksgiving honors the person sharing their life with you. So remember the words of Jesus saying whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours (Mark 11:24). If you believe you have what you asked for in prayer a person with disciplined manners expresses gratitude through a hearty thank you.
Expressing our gratitude for the things already received from God is not hard but trusting God to give what we ask for is largely due to our past experience and the expectation we have of him. Are we convinced that God makes promises he can’t keep (Romans 4:21)? God reveals his grace through his response but we must confess his gift as having been received through faith. In other words when we thank God from our heart our thanksgiving acknowledges that God has honored his word.
By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see. Acts 3:16
This Jesus has made a promise if you ask anything in the name of Jesus he would do it (John 14:13-14). Let’s consider that in this passage we have been given authority to use Jesus’s name to ask for anything according to God’s will. Let us use the authority of Jesus’s name to experience the goodness of the person and character of Jesus Christ to the glory of the father. It’s the trust we have in the person of Jesus that achieves the purpose of our prayer.
Let’s consider that thanksgiving and faith are good qualities found in every relationship. Faith is the confidence and trust you have in God but it is also the confidence and trust God has in you.
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6
In this world its not hard to find people who believe that God exists but take him for granted. On the other hand finding people who are willing to place their lives into the hands of God is far and few in between. It’s one thing to know God exists but to trust God with your eternal life takes faith. No one looks forward to the day they cease to exist but to God’s gift of life. The gift of eternal life meets our need to continue living knowing that death has been abolished in Heaven. Are we thankful for the gift of eternal life received on the day Jesus became our Lord?
Honoring God with thanksgiving shows respect and reverence for God. At the same time receiving anything from God demonstrates his desire to supply all your needs.
And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
On the other hand your faith in God tells you that you have what you ask for. Do you believe that God knows your needs before you ask for them and do you believe that God will supply your needs?
"Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. Joshua 23:14
According to wikipedia.org, gratitude is a feeling or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive. We have so much to be thankful to God for but do we have the grace to show our gratitude for the things we have in Christ and for the promises of things yet to come? 4/22/2014
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