Online Reporter
GREETINGS to the nation. Today we want to talk about the secret of thanksgiving and praise. Psalm 92:1 says, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High.”
The reason why we should give thanks to the Lord is because (i) it is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord.
The Bible says, ‘Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.’ As long as you are breathing, you must learn to give thanks to God and to praise Him. Because for you to live, it is the power of God. So you have a billion reasons to thank Him.
(ii) It is godly to be thankful. Anyone who is godly understands the power that is in thanksgiving or being grateful.
(iii) It is spiritual. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” You have to understand that whatsoever you are going through in life— in every circumstance—you must be thankful. Why? Because you know that God is able to deliver you from every negative situation surrounding your life and that God is above the mountain you are facing.
Many people only know that giving thanks is when you have received something of value according to human nature. But when Jesus came to earth, He showed us the mystery of thanksgiving in all circumstances.
We see that our father of faith in the scriptures, the apostles, and the prophets praised God and thanked Him in the midst of difficult situations. We saw God turning those situations to their advantage. We see them winning wars, coming out of prison, the dead being raised and thousands of people being fed through the mystery of thanksgiving and praise.
Our nature is accustomed to grumbling, complaining and murmuring because we are used to not appreciating the greatness of God. We see the children of Israel on the verge of their breakthrough, about to enter Canaan after crossing the River Jordan.
Murmuring and complaining caused them to revert back to the wilderness — it set them back. It’s like a man driving a car along a highway or a one-way street, then deciding to engage reverse gear and go back to where he came from. That’s what complaining and murmuring do to a generation that does not understand the mystery of thanksgiving.
What thanksgiving does is that it accelerates your life; it brings speed for your breakthrough. This is the mystery we see in the Scriptures.
Someone may ask, “Why should I thank God when life is tough on me? When I can’t even feed my children? When I am feeling pain? When I am unemployed?” Thanksgiving and praise are spiritual languages that God hears and that cause Him to act as King.
We must understand that God is our King. When we approach Him, one of the keys to approaching God is thanksgiving and praise. Psalm 100:4-5 says, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him and bless His name.”
God has gates. One way to access His gates is to be a person who knows how to praise despite your circumstances. That’s why many prayers go unanswered—they are rooted in a mentality of blaming God because of the circumstances. We see that the children of Israel could not access their promised land because they were full of grumbling and complaining. One of the things God hates is a heart or mouth that does not know how to be grateful.
Once, Jesus said to the Pharisees and Sadducees, “If you do not praise me, I will cause the stones to praise me.” Our God loves to be praised. During the days of kings like Lobengula, Mzilikazi and Shaka, you would not approach the king without knowing how to praise him. They would start afar, singing about the king’s victories. They would remind the king of how great he is and of the peace, prosperity and joy his kingdom has brought to its people.
The person singing praises could be someone seeking justice from the king, but look at how they approach him. These practices were copied from the kingdom of God. Unfortunately, the church lacks revelation of the power of praise.
Our Jesus is greater than any king who ever lived. He is the King of kings. He deserves our praise. As I write this, somewhere someone is complaining about life, while another person is in hospital, asking God for a second chance to live, promising that if given a second chance, they will praise Him.
Yet, you are alive and cannot even thank God for your health, family, work and the life He has given you. Some people are sleeping under a bridge in the cold without blankets and you have more than enough but cannot thank God. Surely, we are an ungrateful generation. May the Lord deliver us from this attitude.
In Acts 16:22-26, we see Paul and Silas, who, after being beaten, were cast into prison, with their feet fastened in stocks. The Bible tells us that during the midnight hour, they prayed. We must understand that there are many keys in the kingdom for increase and for opening doors.
One of these keys is prayer. The Bible says they sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them. Suddenly, there was a great earthquake — the foundations of the prison were shaken — and immediately all the doors were opened and the chains were broken from their hands and feet.
These apostles, instead of complaining about the pain on their backs, praised God. I understand the pain they endured and their humiliation. Remember, they did nothing wrong; they were beaten because they conducted deliverance and prayed for a young lady possessed by a spirit of divination. They were doing God’s work, setting her free from darkness. Yet, they were flogged.
We do not hear them complaining, “God, we have been beaten because of this anointing You gave us.” Instead, they prayed and sang praises.
When we sing praises, we remind God of past victories and future ones. God had no choice but to answer with an earthquake — the foundations of the prison shook and the shackles could not hold them. I do not know what kind of prison you are in, but remember, what happened to Paul and Silas is not fiction. It is what God does for those who know how to praise. Praising Him is a way of appreciating His faithfulness and His greatness.
If you want to see miracles and wonders, stop telling God how big your mountain is. Start dancing around the mountain. Remind the devil that God is above the mountains; He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth.
Thanksgiving is a key to more. In John 6:8-13, we see Jesus feeding 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. The Bible says Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to the disciples. There was a miracle and leftovers remained. Why? Because Jesus understood the mystery of thanksgiving. If some of us were to witness this, we might say, “This is too little for these people.”
May the spirit of thanksgiving come upon the church. I invite you to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour—believe in your heart and confess with your mouth and you shall be saved.
May God bless you all.
Contact details: [email protected] WhatsApp Number: 0772494647 .
