Can we dwell in the land of thanksgiving for a bit longer? The world rushes into the next holiday, but my thoughts linger on giving thanks. Woven throughout the Word, gratitude must be an unbroken cord in our lives.

Living through the hard things of life, it is imperative that we bring our wrestling, fear, and troubled spirit to the Lord. He directs us to. He calls us to come and sit with Him, unloading all our anxiety. In His presence we are safe to speak out our deepest heart longings. But look what’s tucked right smack in the middle of Him telling us to do so:

“Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything, by prayer and petition,
With thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.”
Philippians 4:6

Offering prayers while recalling God’s goodness buoys us from being weighted down with our problems, reminds us of God’s gracious dealings with us in the past, and keeps us from disregarding the needs of others who are dealing with hard things themselves.

Gratitude requires submission to the will of God. “It is only when we are fully convinced that God is working all things together for good that we can really feel the perfect gratitude towards Him which believing prayer demands.” William Barclay

One evening, reading a book by Max Lucado titled Anxious for Nothing, I was reminded of the importance of giving thanks, especially when bringing our concerns before God. We are to bring our hard things to Him, wrapped in a cloak of thanksgiving.

The next day, a friend called for prayer for a soon-to-arrive grandbaby. Something was awry. Four-year-old grandson Jackson was hanging out with me that day, so I asked if he wanted to pray for this mommy and baby. Without hesitation, he folded his hands, bowed his head and started to sing…his well-loved, pray-before-meals song. I came a flip of stopping and reminding him we were praying for a wee one; not lunch. Feeling a check in my spirit, I relaxed into the simplicity of his words. And even as he was singing in his deep, clear voice, I began to smile as the truth settled in, this was a prayer-song of thanksgiving. 

“God our Father, God our Father
Once again, Once again
We just want to praise you, We just want to praise you
Amen”

Here I was ready to rush to the Lord with all the details about my request for a concern He already knew; for a mom and grandma He already lavishly loved; and for a baby that He Himself had knit together in the mother’s womb.  And my suggestions of what He might do for them would fall far short of His perfect plan. 

I love when He presses in wisdom and truth, using the innocence of His littlest ones.

As we bring our requests to God, He requests praises that affirm we know who He is and that we trust Him to take care of us and the people we love. A prayer of thanksgiving.

This discipline of walking in thanksgiving will help us through the chaos, demands and hards of the coming holiday: Christmas. As we stand in another line, we wait with thanksgiving. As we forge through the preparations, looking forward to the festivities, we labor with thanksgiving. As we long for reconciliation with a loved one, we hope with thanksgiving. As we wonder how in the world we will bear the holiday with a gaping hole in our heart, we trust with thanksgiving. And as we wait for His ultimate, imminent second coming, even as we celebrate His first, we anticipate with thanksgiving. 

Choosing to walk in a whirling cloud of thanks to God is a glowing treasure in the hard.

Photo: Andressa Voltolini, Unsplash