Someone once said,
“Be thankful for what you have and you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you’ll end up not having more.”
It is also true of what Alice Walker said,
“Thank you is the best answer anyone could say to express extreme gratitude and humility.”
Every time we wake up in the morning, get dressed to go out of the house, do our daily work, and getting back home safely are reasons to be thankful.
Sometimes things don’t always go smoothly in life. We may get sick but God can heal us. We may have had a bad day at work but God will give us the strength to get thru it.
We should be thankful for the good that happens because those are great blessings but we should be thankful for the bad as well because through those times we grow.
Many people believe that we should be thankful after we have prayed and received the answer to our prayers. Giving God thanks is not limited to that; if that is the only time to give thanks to God, then what if you don’t get the answers to your prayers?
Will we not thank Him then?
People have studied the mystery behind giving thanks and have gotten to the conclusion that being thankful does not only make God happy with you, but it also opens new doors of blessing for you.
There is an illustration to differentiate prayer and thanksgiving.
It says,
“when we pray to God, God sends his angels to give the answers to our prayers. That is what happened when Daniel prayed, an angel was sent to him. When we give praise or give thanks, God himself comes down and dwells in our praise.”
There are different ways by which one can show appreciation to the Lord.
1. Giving Thanks Through Prayer.
This is one of the ways to give thanks and probably the most popular way to thank God.
Prayer is an important thing for every Christian. A Christian that wants to continue to grow spiritually will never stop praying.
While praying, we must learn to use most of the time of prayer to give thanks. Our prayers shouldn’t be a constant asking for things from God. We should separate time in our prayers to just thank the Lord for all He’s done, all He is doing and all He’s going to do.
Be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Philippians 4:6
The simple truth about doing this is that God will never cease to answer anything we ask thereafter.
2. Tell People About His Goodness.
Sharing your story with people is a systematic approach to thanking God and showing how appreciative you are.
There must have been a time when you were down and almost out. You probably felt like everything was coming down on you but God turned it all around.
We all have testimonies of God’s work in our lives. I say to you “Tell Your Story”. In doing so you show to the Lord and to others just how thankful you are.
Let others know that Jesus has given you. It may just motivate someone else to press forward.
3. Giving
Anyone who is appreciative will always learn to give and care for others.
Giving to the work of God or to other people is a way to thank God for blessing you abundantly.
Most of the time, giving does not necessarily mean that you have enough to give but you want to make it known to the world that God is always there keeping you and providing for you when you need.
The “secret” of this is that when you give to other people, God will continue to bless you more than you expect.
Spoiler Alert: Bible Principle Ahead
In all things I gave you an example, that so laboring you ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35
4. Obey Him.
Everything you do and say should be done in accordance with the word of God.
According to the Merrian-Webster dictionary the word obey means : to follow the commands or guidance of
Obeying God simply means trusting him and trusting his will or plans for our lives. This boosts our faith in him and faith helps to reflect on the things he has done for us.
Reflecting on the things he has done for us will not only help us to thank him for all he has done but also to thank him in advance for the things he is yet to do.
5. Sing Praises
According to the scriptures, King David made use of this method most of the time to thank God.
David was known to be a man that sang praises irrespective of the condition he was in or what time it was, for this reason, God called him a man after his own heart.
Praise and worship help us to draw closer to God. In our praise and worship, we begin to see God for who He is. God.
It helps us connect to God.
6. Thanking Others.
The mistake some people make is refusing to thank others enough. Even if others have done something good for them.
Obviously, God can use anyone to bless you. Sometimes He sends people into our lives for a specific reason at a specific time. He does this because He knows that person has a blessing for us. Whether it be a word of encouragement or a financial blessing God uses others to bless us.
We should be thankful to those people for their obedience. For allowing themselves to be guided by God.
seeing that through the proof given by this service, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the Good News of Christ and for the generosity of your contribution to them and to all, while they themselves also, with supplication on your behalf, yearn for you by reason of the exceeding grace of God in you. 2 Corinthians 9:13-14
Doing this means you are appreciating God for using them to bless you. Normally, when people help us or bless us, it is very important that we say thank you – saying thank you will prompt them to continue to be led by the Lord.
7. Build A Strong Relationship With God.
The most effective way of saying thanks is to get closer to the person you want to thank.
In the same manner, thanking God requires a closer relationship with him.
There are many examples of people in the Bible who gave thanks to God.
1. Hannah gave a long prayer of thanks to the Lord in 1 Samuel 2
2. David was thankful for the victory God granted him over the Philistines 2 Sam. 22:1-51
3. Mary in Luke 1:46-55 gave thanks to the Lord in a song known as the Magnificat for allowing her to bear the Savior of the world.
4. Jesus himself gave thanks to God in John 6:11 before distributing the bread and fish
From the examples above we can derive that a person that draws close to God is thankful for all He’s done and all He allows.
We can also take away that these were people who had a strong relationship with God.
8. Sacrificing All To Him.
In other words, surrendering all to God. It’s a sacrifice that must be made to show appreciation. Tender everything you have for him to control. Your body, use it to glorify the name of the Lord, use it as a pleasing sacrifice to him. “If you want more of Jesus, give more of yourself to him to show some appreciation.”
He said to all, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. Luke 9:23
