Thankful in Prayer

3 days ago

2 min read

Having just come out of a week of receiving most welcomed offerings on, the Apostle Paul’s, perhaps most well-known and frequently quoted words on prayer, I want to highlight one word from it, which we will meditate upon this week.

As we began last week, so we do again this week, in that the same text is quoted for us.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God: and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4: 6 – 7.

We are here, on this first day of a new week, by grace and grace alone. Most, if not all believers, cannot commence the day without coming before our heavenly Father in thanks and praise for His unmerited mercies. May we not only, with our lips, be jubilantly and passionately thankful and grateful to our Father in heaven, for His goodness to us. Indeed not! We don’t want that to be the case. Most definitely, we want our lives to concur with the talk of our lips. We want to evidence in all our actions, the same jubilance and passion, to the singular honour and unrivalled glory of Holy, Sovereign God.

From the Bible Text, quoted above, I hold high the phrase, with thanksgiving. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

We know that these words of admonition, encouragement and expectation, as penned by the apostle, were tried and proven daily in his life. He, like so many of our Lord’s deeply, devoted servants, knew thankfulness in his talk and in his walk, with his lips and with his life. O yes, Paul was forever thankful to his Risen Lord. However, he could only be that way because it was the way of his Master. As Jesus was always thankful to His heavenly Father, so was Paul thankful to his Lord also.

During this week, we are looking at another well-known and frequently-used passage of Scripture on prayer. This time the author of what is spoken on prayer, is none other than Jesus Himself.

And I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. Luke 11: 9.

As we are led through this week, wherever and however we are led, we are giving unprecedented thanksgiving to our Lord, for without Him, prayer will hold no guarantees whatsoever, to learners such as we are.