At this time of year we are often brought face to face with our debt of gratitude that we owe to God.
16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remember
ing you in my prayers. Eph 1:16
Is there someone you regularly pray for? A missionary, a minister, your spouse and children? Do not forget, in your list of needs and desires on their behalf, to give thanks for them and their role in your life. I believe that in the outpouring of your intercession and thankfulness for them that the intercession is actually fueled by your gratitude.
It is the power cell that brightens your path of of prayer. Have you ever experienced this: While you are interceding if you first began by giving thanks for every benefit this person has been to you personally or who has unlocked the doors of blessing for others to whom this person ministers...as you praise God for his role in this life, he will open your eyes to new areas of need and new things for which to give thanks. It is a glorious tangle of Christmas tree lights...you are not sure where it begins or where it ends...they are all connected to one power source, all are beautiful and the darkness only serves to display their beauty more.
God takes the raw material...us, his servants, and the needs we encounter and for which we rely on him and those who are daily at prayer for us...and he arranges us, our needs, our usefulness to Him, our strengths, our areas of need for protection and power against the wiles of the Enemy--all are parts of a glorious composition...a panoply of strengths and a parade of our armor--all used to shine with with the brightness of thanksgiving, paraded for his good pleasure and the luminosity of the strong prayer he leads us to pray--all send the enemy packing.
Thanksgiving is strong...it is strong in battle. But it is sometimes quiet...a nail-bitten clenched hand...It is in these times that Thanksgiving is hard work.It is in these times that when we persist....when we thank him when all we want to do is to turn our back and climb back into bed...when we offer the sacrifice of praise through tear streaked cheeks...It is these times I believe that are most precious to God.
I am reminded of Jacob striving with the angel of the Lord...he persisted..would not let the angel go until he blessed Jacob. The angel finally crippled Jacob by wounding his hip and then he did deliver the blessing Jacob sought. That place Jacob called '"Penuel" meaning "the face of God." I have always referred to my quiet time with God as"Penuel" for it is here that I encounter God and he shows me his face.(not his literal face..mankind cannot endure that...but he shows me who he is...and what he wants of me..), He is there to listen to my pleas and to accept my praise and thanksgiving and to show me my next step.
Praise him for that. Thank Him for that.
16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remember
ing you in my prayers. Eph 1:16
Is there someone you regularly pray for? A missionary, a minister, your spouse and children? Do not forget, in your list of needs and desires on their behalf, to give thanks for them and their role in your life. I believe that in the outpouring of your intercession and thankfulness for them that the intercession is actually fueled by your gratitude.
It is the power cell that brightens your path of of prayer. Have you ever experienced this: While you are interceding if you first began by giving thanks for every benefit this person has been to you personally or who has unlocked the doors of blessing for others to whom this person ministers...as you praise God for his role in this life, he will open your eyes to new areas of need and new things for which to give thanks. It is a glorious tangle of Christmas tree lights...you are not sure where it begins or where it ends...they are all connected to one power source, all are beautiful and the darkness only serves to display their beauty more.
God takes the raw material...us, his servants, and the needs we encounter and for which we rely on him and those who are daily at prayer for us...and he arranges us, our needs, our usefulness to Him, our strengths, our areas of need for protection and power against the wiles of the Enemy--all are parts of a glorious composition...a panoply of strengths and a parade of our armor--all used to shine with with the brightness of thanksgiving, paraded for his good pleasure and the luminosity of the strong prayer he leads us to pray--all send the enemy packing.
Thanksgiving is strong...it is strong in battle. But it is sometimes quiet...a nail-bitten clenched hand...It is in these times that Thanksgiving is hard work.It is in these times that when we persist....when we thank him when all we want to do is to turn our back and climb back into bed...when we offer the sacrifice of praise through tear streaked cheeks...It is these times I believe that are most precious to God.
I am reminded of Jacob striving with the angel of the Lord...he persisted..would not let the angel go until he blessed Jacob. The angel finally crippled Jacob by wounding his hip and then he did deliver the blessing Jacob sought. That place Jacob called '"Penuel" meaning "the face of God." I have always referred to my quiet time with God as"Penuel" for it is here that I encounter God and he shows me his face.(not his literal face..mankind cannot endure that...but he shows me who he is...and what he wants of me..), He is there to listen to my pleas and to accept my praise and thanksgiving and to show me my next step.
Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Rom 7:25
Praise the Lord.
Why do we thank God? He is eternally good and forever loving. And his Name is near.Wejuststudied in church some of the names of God...and all that those Names mean is right at our hand. His name is not far off...it's as near as your next breath....Do you understand the implications of that? Do you understand the power that is right at hand? Or the hand that softly wipes our tears:it is NEAR.Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever. Psalm 106:1
We praise you, God,
we praise you, for your Name is near;
Psa. 75:1a
Praise him for that. Thank Him for that.
No comments:
Post a Comment