Learning The Power of Grateful Prayers

In review of Philippians 4:6-7 it says, “Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace.”

Bottom Line:

Don’t worry, instead bring it to God in prayer and thanksgiving for what he has already provided.  Doing so will help you experience God’s peace.

What this means to me:

I am never to worry or be anxious about anything, instead I am to bring up all of my concerns and requests in prayer coupled with thanksgiving, letting God know what’s on my heart. If I do this then God promises to provide me with his peace, which is far beyond anything I can imagine. Through this, He will help guard my thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 presents one of the most difficult verses in the entire Bible to obey it says: “Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace” (NLT). It’s not easy to stop worrying about the often-scary, everyday parts of my life, but God tells me how in the next part of the verse: “Pray about everything … and thank him for all he has done.” Grateful prayer brings peace. God says, when you start to worry, stop and pray instead. As a parent I can easily understand the power of grateful prayers. I believe most parents wouldn’t appreciate their children always making requests without saying “thank you” for what they’ve already received. God sees it the same way. He wants me to ask him for what I need and want. More than 20 times in the New Testament, I’m told to “ask” him. But he wants me to ask with gratefulness. The Bible urges me to be specific in my requests — and my praises. Instead of a simple “thank you for everything,” he wants me to tell him what I’m grateful for. God likes to hear what I appreciate and about what I'm grateful for from Him. So when I pray, I be sure to specifically tell God what I’m thankful for. Prayer is one of the most important ways I can tell God “thank you.” Thanking God in advance is a big step of faith. When I have the faith to thank God ahead of time, miracles happen. The more thankful I am, the more God works in my life. The Bible says that God inhabits the praise of his people. He uses my thanksgiving as an instrument of power in my life. Today, I admit that I am thankful for God providing me miraculous healing from my most recent infection and for healing from steps the Doctors took to help prevent additional infection.  I’m thankful for my wife, daughter and son-in-law being part of my life. I’m also thankful for God leading me to and allowing me to be under the leadership at my church, and for the love and support we receive from our Church family. I know that as I spend more time with God each day and take his word to heart, making it part of my life; that he will continue to bless me in the future.