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
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