Online Reporter
GREETINGS to the nation. Today we want to talk about the secret of thanksgiving and praise. Psalms 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 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 whatever you are going through in life, in every circumstance, you must be thankful. Why? Because by knowing that God is able to deliver you from every negative circumstance surrounding your life and that God is above the mountain that you are going through.
A lot of people only know that giving thanks is when you have been given something of value according to human nature. But when Jesus came on 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 hard situations.
We saw God turning those situations for their advantage. We see them winning wars, coming out of prison, dead being raised and thousands being fed through the mystery of thanksgiving and praise.
Our nature is used 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 when they were about to enter Canaan after crossing the river Jordan. Murmuring and complaining took them back to the wilderness, it took them backward.
It’s like a man who is driving a car along a highway or a one-way street and then he decides to engage reverse gear going back where he is coming from.
That’s what complaining and murmuring do to a generation that has no understanding of the mystery of thanksgiving.
What thanksgiving does is that it accelerates your life, it brings speed for your breakthrough. This is the mystery that 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 not working?” Thanksgiving and praise are spiritual languages that God hears and causes Him to act as a King. We have to understand that God is our King.
When we approach Him, one of the codes of approaching God is a code of thanksgiving and praise. The Bible says in Psalms 100:4-5, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him and bless his name.”
So God has gates. One of the ways of access to enter His gates is to be a man or woman who knows how to praise despite what you are going through.
That’s why many prayers are not answered because of a mentality of blaming God due to 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 that God hates is a heart or mouth that does not know how to be grateful.
One time, 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 Tshaka, you would not just approach the king without knowing how to praise him. They would start afar, singing about the king — victories he has won. They would remind the king how great he is, his kingdom that has brought peace, prosperity and joy to its people.
The person singing praises might be seeking justice from the king, but look at how he approaches him.
These customs were copied from the kingdom of God and it’s unfortunate that the church has no revelation of the power of praise. Our Jesus is greater than any king that ever lived. He is the King of kings. He deserves our praise.
As I am writing this article, someone somewhere is complaining about life, whilst someone in hospital is asking God for a second chance to live, promising God that if given a second chance, they will praise Him.
While you are alive and cannot even thank God for your health, family, work and the life He has given you, others are sleeping under a bridge, in cold weather, without blankets. Yet you have more than enough and cannot thank God. Surely, we are an ungrateful generation. May the Lord deliver this generation.
In Acts 16:22-26, we see Paul and Silas beaten, cast into prison, with their feet fast in stocks. The Bible tells us that during midnight, the beginning of the day, Paul and Silas prayed.
We have to 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 doors were opened and the chains were broken from their hands and feet.
Instead of complaining about their pain, Paul and Silas praised God. Remember, these men didn’t do anything wrong — they were beaten because they conducted deliverance, prayed for a young lady possessed by a spirit of divination and set her free from darkness.
But we see them being flogged. We didn’t hear them complain, “God, we have been beaten because of this anointing you gave us.” Instead, they prayed and sang praises. When they praised, they reminded God of past victories and future ones and God responded by shaking the prison foundations.
I don’t know what prison you are in, but 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 greatness.
If you want 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 Heaven and earth.
Thanksgiving is a code for 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 and when He had given thanks, He distributed to the disciples.
There was a miracle, provoked by thanksgiving. The Bible says there were leftovers. Why? Because Jesus knew the mystery of thanksgiving.
If some of us were there, we might have said, “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, confess with your mouth and you shall be saved.
May God bless you all.
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