Benefits of Prayer with Thanksgiving

Philippians 4:6

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6, NASB).

I am sitting in the chair reading the newspaper. The television is on. I hear the announcement for the Thanksgiving Parade that will be televised on Thanksgiving Day starting at 9:00 a.m. EST. I had heard my daughter talking to her mother earlier. Abra was saying that she had forgotten that for Thanksgiving the school kids got out of school on Wednesday and (they) went back to school on Monday. All of this reminds me of Thanksgiving Day in our house when I was a child. I remember that Thanksgiving Day was the holiday that began a season for me of anticipation of joy. Soon, Christmas and then New Year would arrive. What advantages these three holidays offered to me?

My mind returns to Thanksgiving Day. Why do we celebrate Thanksgiving Day in America? What are the many things that we have to be thankful for? Every Christian has reasons to be thankful. Whether the circumstances in our life are good or bad we can think of reasons to be thankful. The apostle Paul was fond of saying that we should pray with thanksgiving in everything. What are the benefits of prayer with thanksgiving? Does being thankful offer us any advantages? I ask my daughter to write down about five benefits that prayer offers. So, in this article I want to share some of the things that she and I came up with.

Before listing the benefits of prayer with thanksgiving let us define what prayer is. Prayer is communication with God. Communication takes place when there is a sender of a message that transmits a message to a receiver of the message. How do we know if the intended receiver has received the message? The sender knows that the message is received when the receiver becomes the sender of a response to the original sender. Thus, prayer is more than sending a request list to God. Prayer is also waiting on a response from God. I may send a request to God this morning. God may not send a response until next week. Also, the message that I receive from God this morning may be His response to the message that I sent to Him yesterday. I hope you get the picture. Now, let us list some benefits of prayer with thanksgiving.

As I just stated above, prayer opens the lines of communication with God. Jesus taught His disciples to pray by saying “Our Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 6:9). When we pray in this manner we are establishing exactly who we are addressing our message to. A first benefit of prayer is found in how we address God or call on Him. When we say “Our Father” we are acknowledging who God is and our relationship to Him. Space here will not allow me to explain in detail the word “Father.” Suffice it to say that the word “Father” does not mean that God is male in gender. Rather, the word Father declares that God is our creator. We are created in His image and His likeness (gen. 1:26). He gives us life and He provides for all of our needs.

A second benefit of prayer with thanksgiving is that it gives us an opportunity to confess our sins. Now, let us not fool ourselves. God knows everything. He knows everything about us. There is nothing that we can keep secret from God. I can confess my sins with thanksgiving because I am sure that God forgives me of my sins. My sins cause a separation between my God and me. Confession closes the separation.

A third benefit of prayer with thanksgiving is that it gives us an opportunity to express our gratitude to God. We recognize that we are living because God gives us life and just as God gives life God takes life. So we are grateful to God simply because we have life. We are grateful because we know that things are as well with us as they are because of God’s grace, mercy, and compassion. We give thanks because we know that things could be worse. In fact, regardless of how things are in our own life we can be sure that there is someone else in worse condition. So, Paul suggests that instead of complaining we ought to be thankful. Yes, we should try to do better. We ought to be looking for something better. In the meantime we should pray with thanksgiving.

A fourth reason to pray with thanksgiving is that it gives us clarity and direction. We are able to put things into perspective. What does this really mean? What should I do under these circumstances? How should I go about this task; this project? When we seek clarity and direction it is likely that we will not get an answer immediately. We must keep the lines of communication open at all times. We must wait patiently to hear God’s response. God’s response can come at anytime. God may interrupt your day or an activity that we think is important. Remember, nothing is more important than our relationship to God and our communication with Him. God has many ways to reveal His response to our prayer. Regardless, of how God chooses to communicate with us, God’s response gives us clarity and direction.

A fifth benefit of prayer with thanksgiving is that it removes negative thoughts and attitudes and establishes positive ones. You see, when we pray with thanksgiving, we do so because we have faith in God. We believe that nothing is too hard for God (Gen. 18:14). As the angel says to Mary: “For nothing will be impossible with God” (Lk. 1:37). When we pray with thanksgiving we are putting our trust in God. Faith means that we believe that God is able. Trust in God means that we are giving our concerns into God’s hand. We are sure that God will act on our behalf. We are certain that what God does is for our benefit and His glory. Thus, prayer with thanksgiving means that we dwell not on negative things that might be possible. Rather, we anticipate with full assurance that God is going to bring about positive good into our life.

On this Thanksgiving Day I look forward to the family dinner. I hope to enjoy a football game or two. I hope that your Thanksgiving Day will be enjoyable and fulfilling. In all these things let us pray with thanksgiving knowing that all good things come from the Lord and the God of our salvation. Happy Thanksgiving!