Word of Encouragement (6/2/2021)
Let’s continue with Phil. 4:6-7: “do not be anxious about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus.” Yesterday, we talked about the importance of making our requests known to God. Today, let’s focus on Paul’s instruction to make our requests known to God by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.
Consider the way you pray for something. When you make supplication/entreaty, do you do it with thanksgiving? Why do we need to make our supplication with thanksgiving?
The first reason is that giving thanks to God is a duty we have toward God for His goodness to us:
“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits....” It is a wicked thing not to give thanks when someone shows us a favor, especially God. So, the Lord complained concerning Israel, “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand. Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly” (Isa. 1:2-4). Even when we pray for something, we must not forget that God has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor repaid us according to our iniquities (Ps. 103:10) but blessed us far beyond what we deserve.
The second reason is that giving thanks to God for all that He has done for us in the past, especially in answer to our prayer, boosts our confidence in God’s goodness and faithfulness to us. This enables us to “ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind” (James 1:6). There are times when the fog of trial is so thick and dark and lasts for so long that we have a hard time remembering what the sunny days used to be like. Even then, we can look to the cross and know that God loves us (Rom. 5:8). In fact, there is no expression of God’s love that is greater than the cross of Jesus Christ. What can God do to outdo what He did for us in sacrificing His Son for our salvation? If the cross is not enough to assure us of God’s love, there is no hope for us.
The third reason is that the very fact that we can pray is a blessing in itself. We are not alone. We don’t have to suffer alone. When we feel overwhelmed by our troubles, we don’t have to despair and give up. We can come to God, who is almighty and all-wise to help us. What a tremendous blessing it is that we have an all-wise God to come to when we feel lost and we don’t know what to do; an almighty God to come to when we feel helpless and we just want to give up; an all-merciful God to come to when we feel all alone and abandoned by others! Prayer is one of the greatest blessings God has given to us because it connects us to such a wonderful God.
The last reason is that, because of all the reasons mentioned, we should give thanks to God in advance for all that He will do for us as we pray. God is unchangeable: He, who has been faithful to us, will continue to be faithful until He brings to completion the good work He began in us (Phil. 1:6). “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Eph. 3:20-21).