Philippians 4:4-6 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let you requests be made known to God.
As we pray, do we find ourselves simply thanking God for what He has done in our lives? Does God’s grace and mercy move us beyond thanksgiving to humble and earnest submission in undying allegiance and loyalty to His kingdom? Brother Lawrence wrote in “The Practice of the Presence of God” : Whatever we do, even if we are reading the Word or praying, we should stop for a few minutes, as often as possible, to praise God from the depths of our hearts, to enjoy Him there in secret. Since you believe that God is always with you, no matter what you may be doing, why shouldn’t you stop for a while to adore Him, to praise Him, to petition Him, to offer Him your heart, and to thank Him? We hear the familiar phase: “Count your blessings”, but do we take the time to thank the Blessor as much as we should?
Daniel 2:20-22 Daniel said, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding. It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him.”
In prayer, we draw near to God, as we cry out to Him. A.W. Tozer explained in “The Pursuit of God” that to speak of being near to or far from God is to use language in a sense always understood when applied to ordinary human relationships. I talking of drawing nearer to God, is speaking of experience, meaning coming to know Him more intimately and with deeper understanding, that the barriers of thought and feeling between the two are disappearing, that our Heavenly Father and us are becoming more closely united in mind and heart. We are not thinking of nearness of place, but of nearness of relationships. It is for increasing degrees of awareness that we pray, for a more perfect consciousness of the Devine Presence in our daily lives. The fact of God and His loving-kindness towards us is a fact. May in our prayers, we give Him thanks for His presence and blessings.
Psalm 118:1 & 4-8 “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His loving-kindness is everlasting. Oh let those who fear the Lord say, ‘His loving-kindness is everlasting., From my distress I called upon the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me in a large place. The lord is for me; I will not fear; what can man do to me? The Lord is for me among those who help me; therefore I will look with satisfaction on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.”
A classic prayer goes: Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants do give you most humble and hearty thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us, and to all men. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we beseech you, give us that that due sense of all your mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, and that we show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but with our lives; by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Ghost be honor and glory, world without end. Amen
In Christ, Brian.
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