Prayer of Thanksgiving
For most of us, thanksgiving is easy and quite natural when there is something to be thankful for. Being recipients of an act of kindness or an unexpected gift, a not sought after compliment or place of honor, all produce a warm, cuddly feeling and is quite naturally met with thanksgiving. In fact, it is considered bad manners to not be thankful, when met with kindness on the part of someone; even if that person is a complete stranger. But what if there is nothing to be thankful for? Paul wrote to the Thessalonian Church to rejoice always and in everything to give thanks. (I Thess. 5.16-18) This would be easy if the “always” and “everything” were taken out of these verses. And to make it even more complicated he adds: “This is the will of God concerning you.” There is no way to get around it. We can’t just go with the flow of our emotions, we must give thanks all the time.
The prayer of thanksgiving elevates us above the circumstances and is a confession of our trust in the Lord. Joyce Myers said: “Giving thanks to God not only helps us fully realize how He’s working in our lives, it gives us a new perspective – our mind is renewed, our attitude is improved, and we are filled with joy.” To be thankful, when there is nothing to be thankful for, is a choice that we must make. When things are not going well for us, it is easy to be depressed, critical and upset. We may start blaming others for the mess we are in or even look to heaven and complain to God. In doing so, nothing changes; neither our circumstances nor ourselves.
Over a half of the Psalms of David are, what we call, “laments”. David opens his heart and shows us his grief, frustration and depression. David spent many years being persecuted, misunderstood and opposed, and yet in the midst of his “night”, he broke through with thanksgiving. An example of this is in the 57th Psalms. In verse 4 he says: “My soul is in the midst of lions…” And in verse 6: “My soul is bowed down. ”Even though he was in the depth of despair, his prayer to God was: “I will sing and make melody” (v.7), “I will give thanks to you, Lord…I will sing praises…” (v.9). David took charge of his emotions and commanded his soul to be thankful and rejoice in the Lord.
Take note that Paul said to give thanks “in” all circumstances. He did not say “for” all circumstances. If the Scriptures would say “for”, then it would be a resigning of oneself to a fatalistic world view. But by saying “in”, the Lord is showing us a new perspective; one of being seated with Him in heavenly places, far above our circumstances. From the perspective of thanksgiving faith is released. It is the calling things that are not, as though they were (Romans 4.17). It is the knowing that God will work all things together for our good (Romans 8.28).
David also learned how to give thanks to God when he received a no from God. David’s heart was to please God and he so wanted to build a temple to house the Ark of the Covenant and where sacrifices and praise could continually be offered up to the Lord. David had accumulated great wealth through his conquests and had set apart the best to be used to build the House of God. He was sure he would receive a yes, but God said no. When I read this account in I Chronicles 17, I could sense David’s pain in not being able to do what he wanted to do. David did not go to his house and pout, rather he lifted up his soul in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord he so loved and trusted. God had a bigger plan. He was to establish David’s throne forever. This task would be passed to the next generation. Though God had closed a door, He opened a window.
Scriptures to meditate on:
I Chron. 16.8-36; 17.16-27; I Thess. 5.16-18; Ps. 103.1-5