Ephesians 1:16
I do not cease to give thanks for you when I remember you in my prayers.
I do not cease to give thanks for you when I remember you in my prayers.
Paul repeatedly mentioned thanksgiving when talking about prayer. That, for me, means that it is not our instinct.
THE PRIMACY OF THANKSGIVING
- I imagine the worship of other gods may include appeasing anger or currying favor. And only in the worship of the God of the Hebrews do we have the establishment of thanksgiving.
- One of the indictments against humanity that Paul wrote about in Romans was that humans did not give thanks to God (Romans 1:21). That set the slippery slope into more damaging things in motion. It seems like a little thing, but it is a major little thing. It may not cost much, but it reveals a great deal.
- Jesus healed 10 lepers and highlighted the one who was not a Jew who came back to give thanks. (Luke 17:11-19)
- When Paul mentioned perilous times, he said they include people being ungrateful. (2 Timothy 3:1-2)
- Again, there is a lot of sacrifice under the old covenant that are all about Thanksgiving.
- Jesus thanked God for hearing him. (John 11:41-42)
We might think what is that? I thank you for hearing me!? Should He not take it for granted? Why is that something special?
But that is the point.
And thanksgiving does not have to be elaborate.
But I suggest it be the first, or one of the first parts of your prayer time every day.
And you may thank God, not necessarily for what is worthy of standing in front of the congregation.
It may be something that everyone takes for granted; it may even be what you thanked God for yesterday. And it does not have to be what you do with others. Do it privately. I believe that God wants to hear your words of thanks to him.
To go, day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year not thanking God, just because we are facing many pressure is a sad thing.
When Paul said, "Pray constantly" (1 Thessalonians 5:17), I believe he was also saying, "Give thanks constantly." Don't stop.
In this focus verse, Paul said he does not cease to give thanks.
That gives us an idea of what he meant when he said, "pray constantly" in 1 Thessalonians.
That communicates a choice we make. So it is not saying to make sure you are praying all 24 hours of the day, but rather to put prayer in a prime place.
And Paul did not say that I pray for you every day, or that I have a prayer book or prayer point that I am using. This is not a knock on prayer books, but here Paul is saying that when I am praying, you come to mind, and the first thing I do when that happens is give thanks to you.
He would later tell you what he prays for them, but in this verse, we pause and meditate on the importance of giving thanks.
NOT A GIMMICK
And I want to warn against using Thanksgiving as a gimmick. We should not be told to thank and praise God so that God would bless us.
Paul, in the passage, says that God has blessed us and that this is worthy of thanks, and the book of Revelation is interspersed with praise, thanks, and adoration to God for what He has done to save and redeem us. (Revelation 4:11; 5:9-10; 7:12)
Thanksgiving is a response, not a gimmick. The one among the healed lepers who returned to give thanks was told that his faith had made him well.
And some want to interpret that as something the others do not have in physical healing, as a way to tell us what we would get when we give thanks, or as a gimmick.
But no, the ten were healed; whatever the one who thanked got on the surface, is what the nine who did not thank get.
But some "faith" preachers want to latch onto the word "faith" and say thanksgiving is something we can use to get something from God. Again no.
The man did not give thanks as a gimmick. And don't you think God would know if you are using Thanksgiving as a gimmick?
He does, since He is not a robot waiting for you to press His button so He can deliver some goodness for you, which is how faith preachers paint God. It's all about schemes, methods, and gimmicks to connect with the pie-in-the-sky God. Stop it!
Your faith has made you well, I believe, means the act of coming to Christ in thanksgiving reveals something deeper has happened in the man than in the others.
The point is that thanksgiving reflects a heart of faith, on which our relationship with God is based (Hebrews 11:6). There is value in that relationship, and thanksgiving reflects it. His Giving glory to God means he recognized what others did not. That made him well in a way the others were not.
That is the faith that has made you well, not so much in telling him he got something special for his Thanksgiving.
It is the wholeness of the relationship with God, in my opinion. Not a gimmick faith to get something extra, but a heart that prioritises a relationship with God. There is wellness in that.
