Thanksgiving in Prayer

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving (Psalm 100:4)

There are four aspects to devotional prayer. Someone created an acrostic that is very helpful in remembering all four aspects: A.C.T.S. "A" stands for "adoration"; "C" stands for "confession"; "T" stands for "thanksgiving," and "S" stands for "supplication."

The greatest facilitator of peace through prayer is not partition but thanksgiving; it is not leaving what concerns you at the altar, but the attitude in which you approach the altar. Thanksgiving means that one prays to God not with a comprehensive list of what He has done. That is impossible! Rather, one prays with an attitude of thanksgiving, particularly thanking God in relationship to your partitions. By thanking God in prayer, the believer will realize the joy, peace, and contentment of God by appreciating God’s grace and mercy; that is, expressing gratefulness for receiving so many good things and yet not experiencing so many not so good things that could have occurred. As a youth, I remember the elders praying, “Lord, I thank you that things are as well as they are.” Thanksgiving in prayer is to approach the throne of God with respect for His sovereignty, supremacy and sufficiency. Simply put, it is to understand that whatever you need or whatever you are going through is exactly what you need at that very moment. If it were not than God would never have allowed it to be. As Paul put it, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” This does not at all preclude expressing one’s subjective partitions, as such flows out of the desires of your heart; however, thanksgiving is the appropriate disposition by which subjects are to come in to the presence of the King to express those desires. It is to recognize the words of Paul in Romans 8, “For we know not what we should pray for as we ought.” I often say to my congregation the most important posture in prayer is not on your knees, but recognizing that He is God and you are not.

How much more effective is a child’s appeal to his parents, when he or she approaches them with genuine respect of whatever their final decision is and sincere gratitude for their loving-kindness as parents. This, to say the least, exhibits love, wisdom, maturity, responsibility, and submission.

I was talking to a lady about being thankful to God in prayer. She said, “I am always thankful. In fact, I thank God for giving me what I am asking for in advance.” I refrained from laughing at such a ridiculous notion. I said to her, “you cannot know what God is going to do. You can only truly thank someone for what they have done. Advanced thanksgiving is neither a logical or biblical concept. That is neither respect nor gratitude to God but an attempt at manipulating God.

While often we come to God in some sense of discomfort, feeling as though we really need what we are requesting, the surprise is often the comfort that results from simply thanking Him for what we already have or what He has protected us from. One should not pray about tomorrow without thanking Him for today. Thanksgiving in prayer often results in discovering that one's circumstance is not as intense as it appeared prior to prayer. One should not ask for more without thanking Him for what he already has. One should not pray for His help without first thanking Him for having kept him thus far. We should not only think about, but pray about, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, and whatsoever things are of good report.

At all times especially in prayer we must, “Be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endures to all generations.” After expressing genuine thanksgiving, one will always leave prayer time with joy, peace, and contentment, and no doubt having prayed more fervently, effectually and thus effectively.