Thankful

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This is the Truth Network. Encouraging Prayer. God offers an open invitation for His people to talk with Him at any time about anything. On Encouraging Prayer, Dr. James Banks, author of the best-selling Prayers for Prodigals and many other books on prayer, provides weekly biblical insight to help you learn to love to pray. And now, here's James.

Well, Thanksgiving is coming up, and today on Encouraging Prayer, we're going to talk about the rarest of rare things, a truly thankful heart. Uh, Robbie? Yeah?

James? Is that really so rare? Well, have you listened to the news lately? Well, yeah, I have. Well, so what do you think's good about it? Well, okay, I see where you're going with this, and you're right, you're right. There's a lot of bad news out there, and as a result, there are a lot of cranky people. Exactly.

And that's why I said, it's kind of the rarest of rare things. What are you thankful for? Okay, well, so many things.

I mean, honestly, where do I start? I could list off any number of them, but I think there's something more important than doing that, you know, just making the list, because that's just an exercise. It's like counting sheep, and after a while, you know, you're just naming things without really thinking about it. But what we're after, most of all, isn't a list, but a thankful heart, right? Oh, man, I remember a time that I had a family member in the hospital, and then I had to help another family member move. And when I got home that night, like three in the morning, that heat was off, and I was all upset. And it used to be my process that it was, I was in that habit where I would just list all the things I was thankful as I started my time with the Lord. And so as I started listing what I was thankful for that morning, I was like, I'm not going to lie, I ain't thankful for nothing.

I mean, least you could do, it was like two below zero outside, we had no heat. And I was like, God, I'm just not there. But as all of a sudden as I was sitting there drinking my coffee in my warm blanket, it occurred to me that my family member had lived and and how loving the people were in the hospital. And all of a sudden, I had this unbelievable like, Oh, God, please forgive me. Like, oh, man, do I have stuff to be thankful for? How did I miss this?

How did I miss this? Yeah, you know, but I love the process you went through there, because just listing off a bunch of things doesn't make us that way. And this is where prayer comes in. Because if we say, you know, I'm thankful for my wife and my car and my kids, it just it doesn't go far enough. We need to take that next step like you did there and say thank you God, for my wife and my car and my kids.

Even though that may seem like just a small switch, it makes all the difference. Because, again, sincere thanks always involves a relationship, right? I mean, if someone does something kind for you, you want to thank them just like you wanted to thank God for that circumstance with that person in the hospital.

I mean, personally, from the heart, nothing else will do. Oh, it's so true. And because God is a source of everything good in our lives, thanking him personally, in a way, placing all of that in perspective, it's pretty humbling, really. Because if we're not careful, you know, we take credit for the good things in our life.

Yeah, that makes me think of where is that? I think it's in Deuteronomy, where God tells us people, you know, you might say my power, my hands have produced this wealth for me. But remember the Lord your God, because he's the one who gives you the ability to produce wealth. So in other words, every blessing in your life, you know, it really comes from him.

And that's the important starting point. It's God who keeps us alive every moment. He's the source of everything good. Well, let's talk about this, because I think more people have trouble being truly thankful than they care to admit. I mean, it's easy to emphasize the negative things that are happening in our lives. And if not careful, it really just consumes us.

Yeah, yeah, like it did for you at first that night. I mean, especially if you're going through a crisis. And this is where I think that what's most important isn't just to count our blessings, but to take a moment to thank God just for himself. Think of 1 Thessalonians 5, where it gives us this challenging advice. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. And if we're really honest, when we hear those words, we think, can I do that?

I mean, I can't do that. But what makes it possible are those key words in Christ Jesus. And as we run to him, he helps us with this.

Right. I mean, if that's where your heart is focused, everything God has done for you and him, I mean, you're going to be really thankful. That's really the source of everything in that passage. And I just really, I love that idea of being thankful for God himself, rejoicing or praising God, because he is everything.

Yeah, yeah. And this is so important for our spiritual health. Sometimes we really have to do it by faith, but it's good to take that step. Because, you know, if you say, Lord, I can't see what you're doing in my life right now, but I know you're so good, Abba, Father, I'm just going to stay close to you.

I'm going to cling to you in this moment. The more we learn to do this and just dwell on his goodness, it's like borrowing money from God, you'll never have to pay back. You're dwelling on the riches of his goodness that are inexhaustible. You're accepting by faith that he's lavished his love on you, no matter what.

You might not see it in the moment, but it's coming. And I like what the Puritan William Law said, that you could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit, for it turns all that it touches into happiness. That is so cool.

That's awesome. I mean, there really is something about thanking God, because let's say that you're in the worst moment, like I was in the hospital situation, and you let him in by hanging on to the truth that he is good, even though the world seems so broken. Just by letting him into that moment is like, man, I mean, something happens in your heart.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, that's the beauty of it, because he meets you there and he gives you the strength to get through and he carries us. And I think that's really the ultimate secret to giving thanks.

It's not just lifting stuff. I mean, listing stuff off, you know. If you need to put more heart into your thanksgiving, just thank God for God.

Go straight to the source. Love him for who he is. And thankfulness flows out of that, because you'll see it in a fresh way, because he will help you too. He will help you understand that he really is the source of everything good in our lives.

Yeah, it's so true. Well, let's conclude our time by doing that, right, and asking God to help us do it more. So, Jesus, thank you. Wow. Then this season, especially, I pray that we would see the abundance of just who you are and that our hearts would just be full of the love that you've given us and that we could return it to you like James talked about, that idea of drawing on riches that are just unbelievable.

Those are there. Help us to see it and feel it from the heart and be thankful. And I ask this in Jesus' name. You can hear more from Pastor James by visiting his website, jamesbanks.org, or by visiting Peace Church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you as you pray.