Prayer and Thanksgiving

Prayer Part 5

Sunday, November, 30 2003

There was a little boy who was kneeling by his bed with his mom to say his nighttime prayers. He began to shout to the top of his lungs, “Dear God, I’ve been real good this year so please let me get a new bicycle for my birthday.” His mom said, “Son, God’s not deaf; you don’t need to yell.” He said, “God’s not deaf, but Grandma is and she’s in the next room.” 

Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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.”

It’s hard to think that when a flight is delayed for 2 hours people get upset. But a hundred years ago most people in America takes many days just to travel across the Atlantic ocean.

So much has happen in the last century that we easily forget that their were 2 world wars, the coming of airplanes, the telephone now wireless and computers in the last 20 years has link the world through the internet. 8 years ago I was in Chang Mai I ask a business man to send me an e-mail he ask me what is that. I was back there last week there is net café at every street corner.

Yet with all this changes that supposedly to make our lives more easier. We have become more impatient and more critical. Its not the material stuff that we long for that will give us confidence and peace. A new Christmas toys for this Christmas is not going to make a child happy all next year. By Febuary they will forget what they got for Christmas.

Jesus once said it’s not what you eat that makes you holy or clean. What you buy is not going to make you happy and be at peace forever. (Philippians 4:6-7) We are usually anxious when we are not at peace with God. Anxieties usually comes from discontentment. And if we don’t have the peace of God to guard our hearts and minds we start looking for more stuff and it will affect our prayer lives.

Do you get anxiety attacks? the bible said you don’t need to. No matter what it is. “But” in some things. Does it say that? But in a few things? But only the toughest things? No it does not say “some things” or “few things” it says “but everything,” means everything. By what?

Prayer and petition with thanksgiving let it be known to God.

Begin our prayers with thanksgiving

Its hard to be thankful and whine at the same time. We normally start our prayers with God bless this day and then whine about why people did not notice you or say hi to you.

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Colossians 4:2

Being watchful and thankful. Watchful for what? Watchful for those subtle lies that comes in and say, God is not healing you because you don’t deserve it or God does not love me that’s why.

Then fear and doubt sets in, anxieties attack bombards your mind. Even when you pray so hard you still feel the peace of God is not guarding your heart. WHY? Thanksgiving in prayer is part of spiritual warfare.

Just like when God send Israel to war. A bunch of worshippers goes ahead and declares Gods faithfulness in praise and thanksgiving.

”He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD , to make petition, to give thanks, and to praise the LORD , the God of Israel:” 1 Chronicles 16:4

The interesting history about the pilgrimage that migrate to America did not find it easy to survive the cold winter that normally hits the north east USA. Most of the mothers and children died during that first year. So when they had their first thanksgiving with the native Indians there were only 5 mothers left who did most of the cooking.

How can you be thankful when your wife or children died. Gratefulness is a choice that can build you or break you. If you had been there in 1621 - if you had seen half your friends die, if you had suffered through famine, malnutrition, and sickness, if you had endured a year of heartbreak and tragedy - would you have felt grateful?

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

A thankful hearts creates a positive attitude that builds faith and builds stronger relationships.

You notice the apostles letters that often starts with gratitude and thankfulness to God for their faith in God continues to grew stronger.

“For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.” Ephesians 1:15-16

You got to find something good in people and thank God for it. It is always our human nature to be critical or find something wrong about others then we air it out. Jesus saw the disciples as immature and uncommitted before he went to the cross. But he saw something bigger in their lives. And pray for them and encourage them to continued His mission.

Prayer with thankfulness breaks down walls of division and disunity. Jesus said to pray for your enemies. When you start praying for those people that you don’t like to be around, it removes any negative thoughts or feeling you have towards that person. Helps to give you a positive attitude and encourage those people to be stronger in their faith

“We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.” 2 Thessalonians 1:3

Be thankful as we pray for those who are in authority over us.

I thank God for our president and for our military and law enforcement. And we need to pray for them. We really don’t see that most part of the world when they have elections most people get killed.

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone– for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” 1 Timothy 2:1-2

It’s our call to pray for those in authority. God gives and takes away. The media is not always going to bring out the good news because it does not get that much attention.

Three reasons why we thank God as we pray for you.

“We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

Work produce by Faith, works that builds our faith in God.

Labor prompted by love, labor that is motivated by love

Endurance inspired by hope. I love this quote from a movie about a guy in prison who was wrongfully accuse of murder. Most of these guys in prisons are hard core and they can not handle the life out side the bars so they end up committing suicide.

“They can beat and lock me in that dark room. They can take away everything I have but they can not take away something in me. Hope,

When everything’s comes crashing down on you and people turn their backs on you. And you feel down and all alone. There is something call hope no one can take that away from.

Hope defer makes the heart sick or hope on anything else that does not last or guarantee you life. When ever there is a market crash people start jumping off their high rise buildings. There hope is defer by material things that won’t last.

my prayers morning is that you would put your trust in Christ, the hope in glory. To know that God loves you. You can be very popular and be around many people all the time and still feel so lonely and rejected.

You can have everything you need but still fill hopeless and you find that many people will come up to you and say man I wish I have it all together like you. And inside you feel miserable and worthless.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

1 Corinthians 13:13

Are you prepared for a changed of hearts and attitude? Allowed God’s Holy Spirit to fill you with God’s love.

Romans 8:15
For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.[ Or adoption] And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."

Do you feel like a child of God or do you always feel like an orphan? Because it affects the way we pray. An orphan always feel like he is never being loved or excepted. An orphan always feel left out and abandon. Fear is robbing us of our promises from our abba father.

If you feel that way would stand put out your hand just to acknowledge. I still go through times of felling like I’m an orphan especially when my own dad pass away suddenly when I was 13 or 14. Is hard to love others when we don’t feel we have been loved our selves.

Poverty is similar to being an orphan. Orphans feels like they are never excepted and poverty feels like its never enough. Even if you have so much you still feel empty and void inside.

God is all we need, when you are fill with God then you are contend with what ever you have. Why? Because the God of the universe loves me and he provides all my needs according to his riches in glory.

Dream; young people, trash cans, John Wimber,

“I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.” Philemon 1:4