“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you”—1Thessalonians 5:18
Thanksgiving means expression of gratitude or praise towards God. And the opening text commands us to give thanks to God in everything. Because thanking God in everything is the will or desire of God from us in Christ Jesus. So the Lord desires that we thank him in every situation, whether good or bad.
In other words, thanksgiving unto God is not an occasional or optional thing for a believer. Rather, thanksgiving is to become the lifestyle of every believer in Christ Jesus. As the scripture instructs us to pray always, it also instructs us to continue in thanksgiving (see Colossians 4:2).
We are to be thankful to God for the smallest things as well as the greatest happenings in our lives. For that is the desire of the Lord from all of us, his children.
How Do We Thank or Praise God?
Listed below are the various ways to thank, praise or worship God as a lifestyle:
- Holiness: “O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth”—Psalms 96:9
The number one way of living a thankful or praiseful life before God, is by living a holy or godly lifestyle. Without a holy lifestyle in place, every other kind of praise or thanksgiving to God is useless and vain. Like the above scripture says, worshipping or praising the Lord must be done in the beauty of holiness.
- Praises: “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually,
That is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name”—Hebrews 13:15
Worshipping and extoling God with the fruit of our lips always is a major way of living a thankful life.
- Musical Instruments and Dance: “Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery
and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed
instruments and organs”—Psalms 150:3-4
from this scripture, we see clearly that we are to praise God with all manners of musical instruments and also with dancing.
- Offering Your Substance: “Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all
thine increases”—Proverbs 3:9
We thank, praise and worship God with our substances. We thank God with our tithes and offerings. We thank God by sowing towards the works of God’s Kingdom.
The Benefits of Thanksgiving
Scripturally, when we thank or praise God, we enjoy the following:
- God’s Presence: “let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful
noise unto him with psalms”—Psalms 95:2
the major benefit of a thankful or praiseful lifestyle is divine presence. As we thank and praise the Lord, we are filled with God’s presence, in the person of the Holy Ghost ( see Ephesians 5:18-20)
- Signs and Wonders: “Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee,
glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders”—Exodus 15:11
As we thank or praise God, he gets excited and demonstrates his wondrous and fearful acts in our lives and in our midst as a church. So when thanksgiving is our lifestyle, we continually enjoy God’s miraculous acts in our lives.
- Supernatural Supply and Increase: “Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then
shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.
God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him”—Psalm
67:5-7
From the above scripture it is clear that as we praise or thank God as a lifestyle, God increases our substances and blesses us more and more.
So there you have it—the lifestyle of thanksgiving or praise unto God. You’ve seen that God desires thanksgiving from us. You’ve also seen the scriptural ways of thanking and praising God as a lifestyle. Then finally you’ve seen the benefits obtainable from God from a thankful lifestyle…
But however, you must be born again to be able to praise God acceptably. God only inhabits or receives the praises of his children in Christ Jesus. So if you are not yet saved by accepting Jesus as your Lord and personal saviour, Click Here to Do So Now!
Remain
Blessed!
Emeke Odili
