“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name” Psalms 100:4
In review, our acronym for our prayer template is A.C.T.S.:
Adoration -Praising and worshiping God for Who He Is
Confession-Standing in agreement with God stating the things we’ve done wrong or neglected to do.
Thanksgiving-Telling God we appreciate Him for specific things that He does or has done or will do.
Supplication- Asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly
In this section, we’re going to touch on Thanksgiving…
We really just want to tell God, “Thank You!”
Taking time to thank God is essential because it shows an attitude of gratitude.
Thank the Lord because it ensures we are following the will of God.
He tell us in I Thessalonians 5:18 “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Now that we’ve adored God for Who He Is, acknowledged our wrong to Him, we can
thank Him for what He’s done…
I recommend keeping a journal or even just a list on a regular sheet of paper. Tape the paper to the wall where ever you typically pray or you can use sticky notes; every time God answers a prayer or every time something amazing and unexpected happens, make a note of it. Then as you are praying, before you begin to ask God for anything, read off the list and thank Him for the things that He has done, specifically, one-by-one.
thank Him for what He is doing….
we take so many things for granted as just happening. But in reality, every breath we breathe is a gift from God. Thanking God for waking you up in the morning, thanking God for life, health, sight, clothing you in your right mind, thanking God for everything that He is doing right here in this moment helps us not to take Him or His blessings for granted.
Now the former types of thanks are easy; for most, it goes without saying that we should thank God for what He has already done because of a little think called manners. Most people have simply been taught to say thank you when they receive things or kind acts from others. However, there’s one more thing we’ve got to thank God for when we pray. We must
thank God for what He’s going to do!
Philippians 4:6 explains it best’ “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God”
Thanking God in advance is one way to exercise faith. When you pray to God for peace, you know it’s His will for you to have peace according to His word. So you can ask for peace and thank Him for that peace in the same breath. Mark 11:24 “Therefore I tell you, everything you pray and ask for–believe that you have received it and it will be yours.”
clay and The Potter 