“Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.” Psalms 95:2 NKJV
Thanksgiving, according to the Bible, is a command from God. It is not merely a church session or tradition. Thanksgiving should not only occur when you feel like it or when something positive happens.
Psalm 50:14-15 asks if your Thanksgiving is a true sacrifice to God. In the Old Testament, sacrifices were offered to God, but now, Thanksgiving has taken their place. When we come before God, we should understand that our sacrifice is our Thanksgiving, and we should never come empty-handed before our King.
Thanksgiving is a sacrifice that comes with a promise, as stated in Psalm 50:15. When you give thanks and call on God, He will rescue you, and you will give Him the glory in return.
The posture of Thanksgiving refers to the attitude or approach to giving thanks, which includes:
- Thanking God for the unseen (John 11:41-42): A testimony was shared about a woman who prayed for a child for years and bought baby clothes for a baby she had not yet conceived. She eventually had her baby, giving glory to God. What are you expecting from God but have not yet seen? Start giving thanks to God for it now. Thanking God for the unseen shows our confidence in His capabilities. Once God has promised, it is certain to happen, but since we are bound by time, we sometimes need to work and walk towards our answers.
- Thanking God for the inadequate (John 6:11-12): When there is not enough in your life, what do you do? Thanking God when things are inadequate demonstrates our trust and confidence in His ability to provide.
- Thanking God for the marvelous things He has done (Exodus 15:11-21): This is the kind of Thanksgiving most of us engage in, thanking God for the visible and evident blessings in our lives.
Prayer.
“Father, I thank You for the unseen which are yet to manifest, I thank You for the inadequate, and I thank You for the marvelous things You have done for me, in Jesus’ name.”