The Power of Thanksgivingਨਮੂਨਾ

Thankfulness is the doorway to the supernatural

Thankfulness is powerful. Yesterday, we looked at a little bit of gratitude's natural way of helping. Today, I want to look at some of the spiritual side. Gratitude is a door to the supernatural. It is both key and protocol to enter God’s presence, as well as a faith activator.

We went over the command on day one to give thanks and to tell of His deeds.

1 Chronicles 16:8 ESV: Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!

Our gratitude needs to move our mouths. Making His deeds known is giving thanks in a way that others can hear. Whether it's spoken, sung, or written, we are to give thanks as we declare and share what God has done.

The Psalms instruct us on how to enter God’s presence.

Psalms 100:4 ESV: Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

In the book of Revelation 12:11 NKJV, the word of our testimony is listed as part of how we overcome the enemy. Revelation 19:10 ESV ends with, “Worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." As we declare what God has done and give Him thanks, we are worshiping God as well as prophesying. We are declaring what the unchanging God has done and what He will do.

Let's look at this at work through some Bible stories. In Acts 16, Paul and Silas are beaten and imprisoned for sharing the gospel. They were beaten, then were put in the inner cell in stocks. This is where most believers today would whine and complain. They were doing the right thing, they were following God’s leading, and now they were mistreated, locked up, and in horrible circumstances. Yet their response was to sing at midnight. In the darkest hour, they were singing praises. As they praised, God moved and the earth trembled, the jail opened, and the chains fell off.

In 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat finds himself in a desperate situation with a great army approaching. In his prayer to God, he admits he is powerless against this great horde, but that his eyes are on the Lord. He receives word that God will deliver him, and he begins to praise. In the natural realm, nothing has changed yet. But he worships with the people, and they appoint the choir to march ahead of the army. I want you to look at vs 22:

2 Chronicles 20:22 NASB20: When they began singing and praising, the LORD set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were struck down.

The answer they were waiting for came WHEN they began singing. Their praise preceded their miracle. We often want to hold all our praises to the end, but our praises are part of seeing the answer come to pass.

When Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish, it went differently than I expected. Jesus did this twice, once with a group of 5,000 and once with a group of 4,000. During the second time, Matthew records details about how Jesus prayed.

Matthew 15:36 NASB20: ...and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples [gave them] to the crowds.

He didn’t beg or plead for multiplication. He gave thanks. When Jesus prayed, he gave thanks, and then everyone experienced the miracle.

We receive from God by grace through faith. Our mouth is a faith or doubt dispenser.

Mark 11:23 ESV: Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.

There is so much emphasis on what we say. Our words release faith. As we give thanks, we sow faith in our hearts, just as when we complain, we sow seeds of fear, doubt, and worry into our own hearts. What we sow will grow.

Our praise stirs our faith, our thanksgiving is a key to God’s presence, and in God’s presence is all that we need. Start giving thanks for what God has done. You can even thank Him for what He said He would do in your situation. This isn’t manipulation or a formula for controlling God, but this is taking God at His word and praising Him for His faithfulness.

Today, let us be thankful people, giving thanks for all God has done, and watch as gratitude fills our hearts and lives and opens us to God moving in our lives.