Welcome to the 4th and final week of Secrets to Answered Prayers. Answered prayers are very possible, especially if you allow the Holy Spirit to guide you during your prayer time. Prayer secret #4: Give Thanks. As we read through the Lord’s Prayer we find that Jesus taught the disciples to begin their prayer with PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING. Psalm 100:4 states, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.” Begin by praising and thanking Him for being your provider (Jehovah Jirah); your peace (Jehovah Shalom); your healer (Jehovah Rophe); your shepherd (Jehovah Rohi); and your righteousness (Jehovah Tsidkenu). Praise creates an atmosphere in which God can move and miracles happen. When you are in trouble; praise Him. When you are sick; praise Him.
Did you know that praise and thanksgiving will bring God into focus and remove the focus from your problem? So instead of praying the problem, you pray the solution. Consider the situation in which Jehoshaphat found himself in 2 Chronicles 20. In verse 15, God told him ‘the battle is not yours’; in verse 17 God said ‘be still and see the salvation of the Lord’; in verse 18 ‘they fell before the Lord and worshipped the Lord’; in verse 21 he appointed ‘singers unto the Lord that they should praise the beauty of holiness’; in verse 22 ‘at the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves’; in verse 28 ‘they marched into Jerusalem to the music of harps, lyres, and trumpets, and they proceeded to the Temple of the Lord’. That was the power of PRAISE.
When we continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God (the fruit of our lips giving thanks), we will reap a great reward. We know that everything we have comes from Him and everything in our future will come from Him. He will provide everything you need if you just trust His Word. You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). So start and end your prayers with thanksgiving and praise.
I hope you have enjoyed this series on Secrets to Answered Prayers. Saturday’s post will again feature guest blogger, Eve Perry.
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