THE TRUE POWER OF THANKSGIVING
Thanksgiving in America comes with images of turkey, stuffing, mac and cheese and college football, if you are Salvadorean you think of Panes con Pavo! If you have never experienced Panes con Pavo you are missing out. Do yourself a favor and seek one out, you will not regret it, but I digress. Let’s get back to the true power of thanksgiving. Throughout scripture there are many verses on thanksgiving. Philippians 4:6 states, "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God." We find many psalms that exemplify reasons for thanksgiving. Psalm 136 is filled with thanks and highlights God's enduring love. The psalmist, David gives us kingdom keys when he wrote psalm 100.
Do you ever want to draw near to God but are unsure how to approach Him? I can tell you from my past experience that God is always waiting and willing to engage with us as soon as we cry out to Him. We don’t have to get to a point of desperation to enter into God’s Holy space. Psalm 100: 4 provides us with two kingdom principles of prayer: thanksgiving and praise. You see, when we become followers of Jesus Christ, we have been welcomed into the Kingdom of God. A kingdom comes with kingdom principles on how we can approach our King. Thanksgiving gives us access to the gates of our King’s heavenly palace, while praise allows us access to our King’s courts.
Have you ever had moments in prayer when it just feels like you are not able to concentrate? When it's difficult to get sentences together to really get into a conversation with God? Let me suggest the following, start with giving thanks for something from the last hour, for example, the air that we are currently breathing. Then move on to giving thanks for something that you see God’s hand on for that day. Next, give thanks for something in the last week, month, year, decade, and so on. The possibilities are endless. During your thanksgiving journey, you will find that you have crossed over the Kings gates and can praise Him for being in His courts! I hope that you give our King all the thanksgiving that He deserves, and that you are constantly entering His gates and dwelling in His courts with praise!
PS: Do not limit yourself to God’s faithfulness for past events, thank Him for what He is currently doing in your life and what He will do in the future!
-The Team at Rise Lioness Co