
Why
Should
We Be
Thankful?
Jeanne Alcott
Have you ever searched the Word of God for the list of things it tells us for which we are to give thanks? God has instructed us to give thanks for many things, and that thanksgiving creates power. It sets into motion the blessing process of God. That’s because thanksgiving is a proclamation of our faith!
Here’s a list of things for which you can go around this Thanksgiving expressing to God your gratefulness for all He is and does.
Psalm 26:7 tells us we are to give thanks for God’s Wondrous Works. It says, That I may make the voice of thanksgiving heard and may tell of all Your wondrous works. Just think of the works that God does in your life and can do in the future no matter what you face. Miracles and blessings that are wondrous!
We also are to give thanks for His Rightness and Justice. Psalm 7:17 says, I will give to the Lord the thanks due to His rightness and justice, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.
And for His Healing. In Luke Chapter 17, Jesus healed ten lepers, but only one of them came back to give thanks to Him for his healing. Verse 15 says, Then one of them, upon seeing that he was cured, turned back, recognizing and thanking and praising God with a loud voice; and he fell prostrate at Jesus' feet, thanking Him [over and over]. And he was a Samaritan.
Here’s Jesus’ response to that. Were not [all] ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was there no one found to return and to recognize and give thanks and praise to God except this alien? And He said to him, Get up and go on your way. Your faith has restored you to health.
Jesus would not have asked the question if it was not important to Him to receive thanks for healing. Think of something you have been healed of and right now stop to give God thanks for that. Or perhaps a loved one was healed of something. We give You thanks, Father, for Your healing power in our lives!
We are to give thanks for His Holy Name. Psalm 140:13: Surely the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall give thanks to Your name. Psalm 30:4: Sing to the Lord, O you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. Psalm 44:8: In God we have made our boast all the day long, and we will give thanks to Your name forever. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
We give thanks for God's Holiness. Psalm 97:12: Give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.
Also for God's Goodness, Mercy and Loving-kindness. Psalm 106:1: Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!
We’re also to be grateful for Others Whom God Has Brought to Us. This is in many scriptures but we'll look at Ephesians 1:16: I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. Is there someone that you can look around at today and thank God that He brought them to you?
When we allow God to direct our relationships, He will give us people that will be very special in our lives and be a great support for us. I thank God today for my husband and for my family and my friends.
I also want to say a special thank you to those of you whom God has brought to be a Partner with this ministry. I thank the Lord for you today. First Thessalonians 3:9: For what [adequate] thanksgiving can we render to God for you for all the gladness and delight which we enjoy for your sakes before our God?
We thank God Because He Hears and Delivers. Psalm 118:21: I will confess, praise, and give thanks to You, for You have heard and answered me; and You have become my Salvation and Deliverer.
And for His Righteous Judgments. Psalm 119:7: I will give thanks to You with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your righteous judgments. We can rest assured that every judgment God renders will be right and just, just as He Himself is.
We’re thankful for God's Righteous Ordinances. An ordinance is a decree or direction of an authoritative nature. That's when God is giving us a direction of how to live our life. The directions He gives are righteous. Psalm 119:62: At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You because of Your righteous ordinances. Don't worry, this doesn't mean that you have to get up at midnight every night and give thanks to God for His righteous ordinances. But we are to thank Him daily that the directions He gives us are righteous.
We thank God that He Teaches Us His Statutes. Psalm 119:171: My lips shall pour forth praise [with thanksgiving and renewed trust] when You teach me Your statutes. This is one of the greatest things that you can add to your thanksgiving list because without God teaching us His principles we could never mature and grow in Him, but also we would not receive the total goodness that He wants to shower on our lives. Truly we give thanks to the Lord that He teaches us His statutes.
God wants us to be thankful for the Generosity of Others to Us. II Corinthians 9:11, 12: Thus you will be enriched in all things and in every way, so that you can be generous, and [your generosity as it is] administered by us will bring forth thanksgiving to God. For the service that the ministering of this fund renders does not only fully supply what is lacking to the saints (God's people), but it also overflows in many [cries of] thanksgiving to God.
That’s two-way—our generosity to others and theirs to us. Some of the best fun I have is being generous to others. It’s such a joy to watch their thanks to God overflow as their needs are met. God also brings people to be generous to all of us.
We are thankful for the wonderful power by which God Leads Us in Triumph. II Corinthians 2:14: But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ's victory] and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere.
We are grateful that God Makes Us Fit to Share the Inheritance. Colossians 1:12: Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified and made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God's holy people) in the Light.
The greatest reason we are thankful is for God's Gift. II Corinthians 9:15: Now thanks be to God for His Gift, [precious] beyond telling [His indescribable, inexpressible, free Gift]! God's free gift to us was the Gift of Jesus Christ who brings us salvation.
We are also to give thanks for The Gospel Message. The Word of God. Acts 13:48 says, When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified (praised and gave thanks for) the Word of God; and as many as were destined (appointed and ordained) to eternal life believed (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Jesus as the Christ and their Savior).
I want to share one last thought with you concerning giving thanks, and this has to do with praying over your meals. In the Bible days we’re told that, “It was customary to pray at the beginning of the meal and at the end as an expression of dependence on God for all man’s needs and of gratitude for His constant goodness.”
John and I many times think of this as we give thanks over our meals and I encourage you to do the same. Think about your dependence on God and your gratitude for His constant goodness. We depend on God for everything and it is because of His constant goodness that we are able to be blessed in life.
A PRAYER FOR YOU.
Lord, we lift up to You right now those who are in need in some way. We ask that You visit them with bounty in Your hand.
You are giving me a picture of Your big hand filled with wonderful things that my friend needs in their life, all those things that they have told You about and some that they don't even realize they need. Now You are lowering Your hand down into their midst to fill their life full, for Your Word says that You came to bring us life abundantly so that we could enjoy it till it overflows. We come into a strong prayer of agreement that they will receive.
We give thanksgiving to You in the midst of whatever they're facing right now, believing that as they do it in faith, they will be able to receive from Your delivering hand.
Thank You for being so mindful of their needs and ministering to those needs as they stand in faith and see You as their source for everything they lack. We praise You for this in Jesus' name. Amen.
We want to be your spiritual Partner.
It's absolutely critical that you have someone of faith agreeing with you for your needs to be met and for God's call to be fulfilled in your life. That's what John and I are here to do. Get a hold of us today and let us know you want us to be your spiritual Partner. We are here for you and I believe you'll see great things happen in your life as we join together. So let us hear from you soon by clicking here.
SPECIAL NOTE: Just think of the people who will thank you in heaven!
Now, we want the dear listeners who give to support this work and pray for us to know how important you are to this ministry and to God. He sees the sacrifices you make so that His word of power can go out. And He is faithful and just to fulfill His Word to bless you because of that.
Then just think of the people that you will meet someday either here on earth or in heaven who have been helped because you cared. So, we expect great blessings to come to you.
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All scriptures are taken from the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition unless otherwise indicated.