Prayer of Thanksgiving
Philippians 4:6-7
In prayer, there must always be thanksgiving. Philippians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Colossians 4:2 also mentions the importance of thanksgiving in prayer. Ephesians 5:20 expresses the same sentiment.
Ephesians 5:20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;
The phrase “with thankfulness” in Colossians 3:16 has a footnote “in His grace,” which is the original Greek meaning. Thanksgiving is to not forget God’s grace.
Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
According to 1 Corinthians 14:16, prayer is also referred to as thanksgiving.
1 Corinthians 14:16 Otherwise if you bless in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted say the “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying?
The ERV translation reads, “You might be praising God with your spirit. But someone there without understanding cannot say “Amen” to your prayer of thanks, because they don’t know what you are saying.” Don’t forget.
When praying, it’s essential to deeply contemplate and realize God’s grace and express gratitude. This is what Colossians 3:16 is referring to when mentioning “thankfulness” or “His grace.” The thanksgiving of a believing saint is both the beginning and end of prayer. Prayer without thanksgiving is fake. I can say this with full conviction.
Think about how parents feel when they’re upset, distressed, and their household becomes a mess, with their children not studying. But the moment you realize that there is Someone to pray to about such things, grace is already at work. Grace comes the moment you think, “I must express my frustration, injustice, agony, and pain to God.” God’s grace is the very thought of “I must pray to God.” Without God’s grace, could such a mindset even exist?
That grace is expressed as “thankfulness” in Colossians 3:16. Never forget this. Thankfulness signifies the foundation of prayer, that is, the root, stem, and very essence of prayer. Thankfulness is the “waist belt” of prayer. Weightlifters wear big belts to exert more strength because it supports their spine and core. Without fastening this belt, they can’t use more strength and lift heavier weights. Thankfulness can be likened to this. When you start praying with a purpose and can earnestly seek God for everything with thankfulness, believe that God will answer even what you have not asked for with His amazing blessings.
“Thanksgiving” is an essential element of prayer; it is prayer itself. It’s about feeling and expressing gratitude. This is recorded in Leviticus 7:12.
Leviticus 7:12 If he offers it by way of thanksgiving, then along with the sacrifice of thanksgiving he shall offer unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil, and cakes of well stirred fine flour mixed with oil.
In the Old Testament, worship is expressed as thanksgiving (Ps 116:17; 50:23; 69:30-31; Jonah 2:9).
Psalm 116:17 To You I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and call upon the name of the Lord.
Psalm 50:23 “He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; and to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God.”
Psalm 69:30-31 I will praise the name of God with song and magnify Him with thanksgiving. 31 And it will please the Lord better than an ox or a young bull with horns and hoofs.
Jonah 2:9 “But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the Lord.”
New Testament saints must be thankful for redemption. In that sense, the pinnacle of thanksgiving is found in Romans 12:1, where we are urged to offer our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice.
Firstly, why is thanksgiving necessary in prayer?
Because only God is worthy of our thanksgiving. God alone is the Lord of all heaven and earth. Giving thanks is an ethical duty that the receiver of grace should rightly offer to the giver. God created me, chose me, loves me to the end, and ordained my salvation for me. Knowing His grace, how can we not thank Him? Thanksgiving is rightfully His, so it is only appropriate to sincerely thank the Triune God. As the Creator, God has the right, qualification, and obligation to receive thanks from man, whom He created as His creatures. That is why Psalm 136 says, “To Him who made the heavens with skill, for His lovingkindness is everlasting; to Him who spread out the earth above the waters, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” If you have forgotten how to live in thankfulness, all you need is Psalm 136 to remind you. How precious is this message? It can even be applied in times of great distress and hardship, at all times until our souls reside in heaven. When you read Psalm 136, you can’t help but give thanks.
Our God is the only One who ought to receive our thanksgiving as He is the Creator; moreover, He also personally deserves it. Why is that? For God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son, and He died for each of us. He became a ransom for us, forgiving our sins with His precious blood, declaring us righteous. He made us righteous, children of God, His own people. This is what John 3:16 means when it says, “For God so loved the world.” When we can truly realize this through grace, we can’t help but bow our heads countless times. Shouldn’t we be grateful just by understanding the meaning of Matthew 1:21, “He will save his people from their sins.”?
We are at a loss for words when God comes to us, saying, “Hey, you! Yes, you! I loved you so much that I sent my Son to the cross to die for your sins” (Rom 5:8). He took our sins and placed them on someone who knew no sin (2 Cor 5:21). He died a gruesome death on the cross to make us realize our sins and to believe.
When we realize God’s love and grace that loves His own until the very end, as written in John 13:1, thanksgiving becomes an integral part of our lives of faith. Even if our hearts are torn into thousands of pieces, we cannot help but be thankful when we think about the grace of the Lord’s redemption.
Secondly, thanksgiving is what makes a true prayer.
Prayers of thanksgiving have the power and ability to make a prayer true and fruitful (Col 4:2). A grateful heart brings forth works of thanksgiving. When saints pray, “We give thanks for all God’s grace,” gratitude suddenly resurfaces and rushes forward, bringing everything back to remembrance. Thanksgiving brings back what was forgotten. When there is thanksgiving, harmony returns to the household. Blessings come when the household is at peace. What was forgotten and blocked all comes back through God’s love and grace.
During times of suffering, complaints, grievances, and doubt, when we pray with thanksgiving, our weak and sickly faith will begin to stir, and faith that was dormant or dead will awaken. That is when we begin to pray with faith. This faith arises from hearing the word of Christ according to Romans 10:17 and the following. The prayer of faith has great wonder-working power.
Psalm 136 tells us to give thanks to God for all things He created and ordained; this is a command. It’s not whether you can or cannot do it! Give thanks, give thanks. This is a command! A command! When we see 2 Corinthians 11, God comes to us with His zeal. I act lazily, unaware, and indifferent. I try to pretend. It’s all utterly disgusting and hypocritical. God knows it all, yet He comes with His zeal to strip away the falsehood and hypocrisy. His kindness and eternity come into me, teaching, “You must give thanks!” I pray in the name of the Lord that you all, once again, bow your heads before such a God, realize, and give thanks. Even Nietzsche, who denied God, said the happiest person in the world is someone who has thanksgiving and certainty of their own world.
Saints need to move away from the low level of gratitude where they are only thankful for the grace bestowed upon themselves as unbelievers do. Even when someone insults you, you may be shocked for a moment, but still give thanks. Have you thought to yourself, “Am I pleasing to the faithful God? Isn’t it a double-sided personality that I’ve created, appearing one way on the outside and another way on the inside?” As Ephesians 3:16 suggests, when you look within and think, “Perhaps my inner self is sick,” and realize, “I must revisit the Bible,” then you know your inner self is becoming strong, pleasing to God.
If my heart is duplicitous, I cannot become one with Jesus. That’s why Jesus rebuked the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23, calling them “You brood of vipers!” Hypocrisy is appearing differently on the outside, contradicting the inside. As human beings imbued with God’s kindness and eternity, regarding destiny and the world, we must open our spiritual eyes to give thanks in faith. Through faith, when we realize that we are creatures of God’s goodness, kindness, wisdom, and the foundation of His providence, we cannot help but give thanks. Whether it’s the country, nation, church, family, friends, or workplace we find ourselves in, God’s kindness and eternity are present there. Therefore, every time we read Psalm 136, we are reminded of the destinies and enduring kindness of God towards the world, realizing the profound connection He has orchestrated for me. The kindness and eternity of God accompanies me everywhere I go, in every workplace I enter, with every friend I make, and in every encounter with people.
Thirdly, it is thanksgiving for the grace of redemption.
Only God is worthy of thanks; He is the object of our faith. Thankfulness is a privilege reserved for believers. When God sees thankfulness, it is a qualification of faith. It is also a weapon of lifelong victory. When offering prayers of thanksgiving, all the worries, pains, and anxieties of the world dissolve into the gratitude and jubilation of redemption. Try putting all your worries, pains, sorrows, and injustices that troubled you into the crucible of thanksgiving. They will all melt away. When we realize and live by the grace of God in the gratitude and jubilation of redemption, those things melt away. As God’s children and a chosen people able to inherit eternal life, we receive that kingdom as our heritage. Still no grace? Please do not forget that you can overcome any misfortune in this world with thanksgiving.
Moreover, how thankful are we for being chosen as servants of God to do His work? Regardless of our family background or anything else, we are not worthy. Wasn’t the prophet Amos merely a farmer cultivating sycamore figs? We should be thankful for the grace given to us for our mission. Apostle Paul worked harder than the other apostles. As recorded in 2 Corinthians 11:23 and the following, he received 39 lashes five times, was stoned three times, was shipwrecked, spent a day and night in the open sea, faced danger from his own people, and endured hunger, thirst, cold, and nakedness wherever he went. Yet, in 1 Corinthians 15:10, he confesses that all these things were by the grace of God. Therefore, by claiming that he can do nothing but give thanks, he glorifies God.
I hope you firmly believe that God’s kindness and everlastingness are in you. Only then does life have value and purpose. Among the things that determine happiness in life, there is nothing like doing something “rewarding.” When you ask yourself, “Who am I?” God grabs you by the right hand of God and tells you, “You are my servant. In you, there is the kindness and eternity of God.” Please believe that when God holds onto you to work, there is a purpose and righteousness that pleases God. The eternal heaven is the inheritance of the kingdom. As recorded in 1 Peter 1:3, how blessed are the people of the eternal kingdom that does not decay, rust, or perish.
Wherever the one with God’s kindness and eternity goes, no matter how dark, grim, or foul-smelling it may be, it will be fixed. Do not rely on people. Remember Psalm 136. Believe that there will be a surprising realization when your hearts and minds are struck like lightning. Let us always give thanks. In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus, as stated in 1 Thessalonians 5:18. Whether it’s rainy, stormy, painful, or frustrating—the clock always ticks. In all of that, there is true joy, sorrow, frustration, pain, and even death. Yet, when you give thanks, you can overcome them all.
Saints should give thanks not only in favorable environments but also in situations where it seems impossible to give thanks. The greatest blessing among the blessings of a saint’s life is thanksgiving. If there is thanksgiving, God will fight on your behalf. Miracles happen. Unexpected things happen when you work in difficult conditions. When you kneel before God and pray, “The kindness and eternity of God are within me. This is what I suffered. Thank you, God. Please intervene, and resolve this matter and help me,” please believe that it will be resolved immediately (Gal 2:20, 5:24, 6:14; Rom 6:6-9).
To help you understand, imagine thick clouds, thunder, lightning, and storms. It’s dizzying. Signs fly off, power lines break, fences collapse—it’s intense. But you shouldn’t just focus on that. At that moment, look at how the eternal God shines sunlight above the dark clouds. God’s light shines above the clouds of storms and thunder. We saints must live in such hopeful circumstances and believe that we will triumph. That’s why Hebrews 12:2 tells us to look to Jesus who is above.
Dear saints, even when you encounter snares, evil, sadness, weakened hearts, and contradictions, trust in and God’s actions and have absolute assurance that He will never forsake you. Just as impurities and dross melt away in the furnace to yield gold, realize that you are going through a refining process to emerge like refined gold, as stated in Job 23.
How many times did David the king face the threat of death? Yet each time, he quietly looked to God alone (Ps 62:1).
Psalm 62:1 My soul waits in silence for God only; from Him is my salvation.
Remember David’s prayer of thanksgiving, “There is no one but God,” especially in times of crisis. Through prayer, you gain wisdom. Thanksgiving is the backbone and key of prayer. When praying before God in accordance with the joy of the Holy Spirit, while realizing the true content and title of prayer, one cannot help but offer a prayer of thanksgiving. Please believe that God will immediately respond to your prayers when you pray, “I feel wronged. I am powerless. I see no way out. I have no one. I lack material things. Yet, thank You, God, for the grace and courage to pray before You” (Matt 21:22). The same applies to Mark 11:24 and John 15:7. Please remember Isaiah 26:3 as well
Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Isaiah 26:3 “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You.
No matter what adversity, persecution, and distress you go through, as long as you are thankful, you’ll have victory after victory. I hope that as saints with whom God is pleased—and who have His kindness and eternal presence in your heart please believe you have received God’s blessings not only when you go to His kingdom, but also for eternity.
Only saints who believe and rely on all of God’s providence can sincerely offer prayers of thanksgiving. In return, they will run on the path of faith without worry, distress, or fluctuation. The world is unreliable, weak, and fragile, but God’s Word is steadfast. Therefore, thanksgiving and grace are firm and strong. May you always realize thanksgiving and grace before God and give glory in His name.
Let us pray.
No matter how troubled, frustrated, or fallen the world may be, may those who believe in God always realize grace and thanksgiving. May the kindness and eternity of God be in our hearts, so that we can offer prayers of thanksgiving before Him whenever we pray.
May we all realize and believe that the kindness and eternity of God will never leave our hearts until we reach that kingdom, and may we all look to God alone.
Even with a faith that is only the size of a mustard seed, You said we can command a mulberry tree to be planted in the sea, so please grant all Your servants even the smallest measure of faith.
Until we reach that kingdom, may we not lose heart, be in despair, doubt, nor be discouraged, even if the storms of distress, persecution, and trouble come upon us. May we realize and believe that the kindness and eternity of God are with each one of us in those moments. May we become those who can stand up, hold the staff of faith, and offer prayers of thanksgiving before God.
I have faith that what we pray for will be fulfilled and that our blessings will surely remain. With confidence, we lift this prayer of thanksgiving, and in all our requests we pray in the holy name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
May 20, 2008
Conference at Osaka Paradise Church in Japan
Sermon by Rev. Abraham Park
*This post can also be read in 'Champyungan'. (http://champyungan.com)
Foreword
