March 10 | The Prayer of Thanksgiving

Series | The Life of Prayer and Heart of Worship 

Scripture | Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Lesson 10 | The Prayer of Thanksgiving

Have you ever enjoyed a pizza without crust?  Or a cake without batter?  Of course not.  Why? Because you can’t really have a pizza without crust or a cake without batter- it wouldn’t be the same thing.  The same is true with the prayer of thanksgiving.  You cannot really have a good prayer without giving God thanks.

Paul in the above verse teaches us that whenever we pray or make requests to God they should always include the prayer of thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving literally means, “to give thanks.”  Thus, every time we pray we should also include giving thanks to God.

You can give thanks to God for all the things He has already done in the past.  For example, “Thank you God for saving me, making me new, giving me the Holy Spirit to dwell with me forever, for every day of life I’ve already lived, and for all your kindness to me.”  You can also take time to thank Him for all the things He is currently doing.  “God I thank you today that I am alive, I have health, your power on the inside, the chance to pray, and your purpose and plan for my life.” 

Lastly, you can thank Him for all the things He has promised to do, “God, I thank you that you promised to never leave me or forsake me, that you have prepared a place for me in heaven, and are coming back to give me a new body to forever dwell with you upon the new earth.”  Therefore, you can praise God for His past, present, and future works.

You can also thank and praise God for His many outstanding attributes.  You can thank Him for His mercy, kindness, forgiveness, love, compassion, generosity, favor, blessings, friendship, salvation, and His unchanging nature.  Therefore, whenever you are praying the other kinds of prayers always remember to add thanksgiving- it is the key ingredient! 

Reflection | Have you given God thanks in all your prayers? 

Action | (1) Think of five things you are thankful to God for. (2) Next time you pray today add these things in the form of thanksgiving.  (3) Lastly, tell someone today how good God has been to you!

One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | Numbers 14:1-15:16, Mark 14:53-72, Psalm 53:1-6, &Proverbs 11:4. Click here to read online.