Do You Remember to Thank God When You Pray?

In our human weakness, we tend to be self-centered and focus on ourselves when we pray. We are, in fact, encouraged to go to God with our concerns and requests (Philippians 4:6, 1 Peter 5:6-7), but we should nevertheless remember Who we are dealing with when we pray. These verses also remind us that we should always approach our Creator with an attitude of humble reverence (fear of God) and thanksgiving, putting God first in our thoughts. 

As Christians, we have much to be thankful for. In addition to our individual blessings, our blessings include God's unlimited and unconditional love, the glory and majesty of His creation (of which we are a part!), and God's ultimate gift of the resurrected Jesus, Who redeems us from sin and gives us the hope of eternal life. Paul tells us "But because of His great love for us, God, Who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved" (Ephesians 2:4-5). He adds "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10).

Once again, Jesus leads the way in thanksgiving and sets the example for us to emulate. Even though He was the Son of God and "One" with God, He felt moved to acknowledge the Father and thank Him for His merciful blessings. The New Testament records examples. Before He raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus "lifted up His eyes" and thanked God for hearing Him (John 11:41). Jesus praised God and gave thanks just before performing the miracles of the feeding of the thousands (Matthew 14:19, Mark 6:41, 8:7). He gave bread and wine to His disciples at The Last Supper only after He had given thanks to God (Matthew 26:26-27, Mark 14:22-23, Luke 22:17-19). He also gave thanks before giving bread to the two disciples He encountered on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:30). And in Matthew 11:25, Jesus thanked God for not openly disclosing His true nature (Son of God) to the "wise and clever and learned" (Pharisees, etc.) and for choosing instead to reveal it to "babies" (those who are lowly, unlearned, and unbiased).

If even Jesus, Son of God, was moved to express His gratitude to God, then how much more should we do so? We all bear burdens and face challenges, some of us more than others. But when we approach God in prayer, our first priority should be to thank and praise God for the many blessings He has so freely given us. As Psalm 100 says, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise, give thanks to Him and praise His name." We can start by giving thanks for God's gift of life and for giving us yet another day to serve Him on earth. Our second priority should be to present our regrets, concerns, and requests to God. And when we ask Him to help us deal with our burdens, we should bear in mind that any "sufferings" we endure serve as a test of our faith (1 Peter 1:5-7, 1 Peter 5:9-10, Philippians 1:29) and that God looks kindly upon those who suffer for their righteous behavior and beliefs (Psalm 34:15, Psalm 55:22, 1 Peter 3:12-14).

The Disciple Group suggests that you always try to include words of thanksgiving as an essential part of your prayers. The Bible is clear on this point. Giving thanks to God "up front" helps us to focus on Him, not ourselves, and helps us to enter into His presence. Paul's uplifting words of instruction serve as a powerful reminder for us: "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).