Thanksgiving & Praise

With Thanksgiving a day away, we need to stop for a moment to take a look at what we’re thankful for.  The next few weeks will be full of spending time with family, friends, and those we love. Whether it be time spent talking in person, texting each other, or on the phone because of the approaching holidays or just catching up on the years events that were missed from not seeing each other for a while. We need to take a moment, from the hustle and bustle, to reflect and seek God.

 We should be thankful every day, no matter what things may lie ahead for that day, God needs to be thanked. There is so much going on in our great country right now that sometimes we lose sight of what there is to be thankful for. Why should we thank God, you may ask, or why should we even praise Him when times are so tough?  We can't give the gifts this Christmas that we would like to.  Well, I can't think of a time that this is more needed! God inhabits the praises of His people. This means that God is in the midst of us when we praise Him and with praise always comes thanksgiving. (Psalms 22:3 KJV)  For when we praise God, we are thanking and honoring Him, in return, God blesses His people when they do this.

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

David, as you have read in many of his Psalms, was a man who loved to praise and thank God. You could say that David set the standards for praise and thanksgiving, especially in song. The psalms, which are songs or hymns that are sung with harp, are what David is mostly known for and one of the many books of the bible that I enjoy. As you read in, I Chronicles 16, where David produced one of his first Psalms onto God with offering and music.

I Chronicles 16:7-12 On that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the Lord: Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works! Glory to His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore! Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth.

David was trying to get God's people to worship Him for delivering them out of the hands of their enemies and to thank God for the many times that He had saved them from famine and destruction. Remember, this was a time before Jesus, so God's people had to rectify their sins with sacrifice and David was sent to show them the way of praise and thanksgiving.

2 Samuel 6:13-15 And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. So, David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.

David here praised God with dance to show his faithfulness to God and his thankfulness for David loved the Lord. David is not the only passages of praise and thanksgiving in the bible, however his are the most prominent within our minds. God shows us throughout the bible that praise and thanksgiving is coming into the center of Him. When we thank and praise the Lord, there is a special bond with Him, that surpasses any other bond you may have with anyone in your life.

God craves for this bond with His people, that's why we need to praise and thank Him for all the good He has done for us, on a daily basis. This helps us in our prayer life to grow a more personal, and meaningful relationship with the Lord.

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

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

Jesus wants us to rejoice in our lives regardless of what the circumstances. I know that it is sometimes hard to thank God, but it is a much-needed task, especially now. If nothing else, it is great to wake up in the morning and thank God for the beautiful day that He has given us and for living yet another day. We Americans take for granted the things in which God has given us. When you look at all the rest of the world, you feel a little more humbled. There are many things I can think of today to give thanks to God for, can you?

Thanksgiving Prayer:

Heavenly Father:  I come before you now and thank you for everything you have done in my life.  I thank you for family and friends.  I praise you now for sending us your son to save us from sin and death.  Praise you for all that you are about to do.  We ask for your presence to reign on this earth in order for those who are in need will come to know who you are in a mighty way.  We ask that this Thanksgiving that you would feed those who are hungry, strengthen those who are weak, heal those who are sick, and give wisdom to those who seek who you are.  Thank you for giving a life of freedom, love, grace, and your mercy.  We give to you all honor and glory for as long as we live.

In Jesus Name

AMEN