Thanksgiving is next Thursday, so today’s verse includes thanks as the theme.
Philippians 4:6-7 says:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
We previously have discussed the idea that we need to “pray like we mean it” or God will ignore what we ask for. Along the same lines, today’s passage says we need to present our requests to God with thanksgiving.
Pause here for just a minute and picture what true thankfulness looks like. Picture the joy in the eyes of the thanks-giver. Genuine gratefulness is a very attractive thing. Also picture the receiver of the thanks – softened heart, warm smile, etc. It makes it a lot easier for us to keep giving if our gifts are received with Thanksgiving.
So when Paul encourages the church at Philippi to pray with Thanksgiving, he is really instructing them on how God wants them to pray and how they are most likely to have their prayers answered.
So as you talk to God this week before Thanksgiving, Pray like you mean it AND Be Thankful like you mean it!
Questions:
- Have you ever given a gift that wasn’t received with thankfulness? If so, how likely were you to be generous to that person or group in the future?
- Does God NEED our thanks? If not, why would Paul tell us it is important to God?
- What is something you need to express thanks for that you have not yet?
- Do you think God thinks it is too petty for us to express thanks for simple things like food, shelter, and clean water?
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