First of all, give thanks Part 2
This week I am posting excerpts from my book, First of All, Pray. Paul urged in 1 Timothy 2 that the people of God top their to-do list with praying for others. Thanksgiving is included in that list of “first of all” ways to pray.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6
Excerpt from Chapter 1:
The Direction You Gaze Determines Your Destination
“A second truth in this verse empowers you to pray about the chaos around you without being weighed down by the sheer awfulness of the situation. You see, as a human, your natural tendency is to gravitate toward the object you are observing. I learned this from my drivers’ ed teacher when I was fifteen. He warned the four of us crammed into the well-dented ‘beginner drivers’ car that if we watched cows and horses grazing in the field, that’s where we would end up—in the pasture and not on the highway! That’s why God included thanksgiving in His list of prayer methods—so that you gravitate toward Him and not the problem!
“Have you ever been frightened about situations in your life and asked God for help? If you prayed without thanking or praising Him, you probably continued to feel very afraid, trying to battle anxiety on your own because your eyes remained glued to the problem. Giving thanks to God pulls your attention off of the enormity of the problem and onto the greatness of God. As you gaze at God, giving Him thanks for His willingness to do wonderful things for you, the anxiety you feel drains away. If you find it creeping back in, you just ramp up your thanksgiving to God again! Thanksgiving is a powerful antidote for the anxiety you feel.
“Do you try to ignore fearful situations in your life in an attempt to resist fear? Do you think about Job when he said, ‘For what I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me’ (Job 3:25) and try to avoid Job’s outcome by pretending there is no problem? Is denial your strategy for dealing with fear? Is that the way you walk by faith?
“Think of the boy David, one of the greatest worshipers in the Bible, watching sheep out in the pasture. When he spied the lion and the bear stalking his sheep, did he conquer his fear by ignoring the situation? Of course not! He rose up, likely with a mixture of adrenaline, fear, and a strong protective instinct and killed the carnivores! His faith empowered him to confront those hungry varmints despite the very real danger! He didn’t seek to protect his faith by looking away from the predators or by denying their existence. Dead sheep would have been the outcome of that kind of faith walk. Even worse, without the experience of subduing the vicious beasts, David may never have been equipped to take down Goliath!
“Ignoring evil, by definition, is ignorance! Thanking God, however, in the face of evil acknowledges His greatness despite the growing darkness. This powerfully applies to facing the destructive forces at work in our nation. Faith confronts the frightening events with the Word of God. Ignoring such forces in our country in an attempt to stay in faith actually prevents you from becoming a part of God’s solution to change the course of events. The sense of fear is not always the spirit of fear spoken of by Paul (see 2 Timothy 1:7); at times Holy Spirit-initiated warnings are alarming—even frightening—yet they are sent by God to reveal that danger is looming. In response you pray and dig into the Word to prepare for battle—and victory.
“When fear does rise up—and it will—ask God how to deal with it and the fearful situation instead of hiding under the covers, hoping the boogeyman will go away! Declare like David, ‘When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You’ (Psalm 56:3). Then in prayer confront the giants both in your life and our nation, giving thanks to God for His Goliath-defeating power!” (Excerpt taken from pages 20-23; First of All, Pray: Prescription for a Nation in Crisis; © 2013–Dorothy Frick)
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?
2 When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though a host encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
In spite of this I shall be confident.
4 One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord
And to meditate in His temple.
5 For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;
In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;
He will lift me up on a rock.
6 And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
Psalm 27:1-6
Thank You, Lord, for the wonder of Your abiding and protective presence in our lives!
Dorothy
Read MoreFirst of all, give thanks Part 1
First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 1 Timothy 2:1-2
This week I will be posting excerpts from my book, First of All, Pray. Paul urged in 1 Timothy 2 that the people of God place prayer for others as a top priority in their lives. The giving of thanks is included in that list of “first of all” ways to pray.
Excerpt from Chapter 1:
Thanksgivings
“You may not think of thanksgiving in and of itself as a type of prayer, but it is. In fact, if you look at all the scriptures using this word, you can clearly see that thanksgiving is to be involved in everything you do. And because the plural for thanksgiving is used in 1 Timothy 2:1, you are to present unlimited thanksgivings to God.
“Philippians 4:6 states, ‘Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God’ (emphasis added). As you pray and supplicate about the stressful situations in your life, the Bible commands you to thank God as you pray. This addresses two very important truths about living life. The first truth has to do with life’s anxieties—no one is guaranteed a charmed, easy-going life! Your life will have its share of stress and conflict. If this were not the case, you wouldn’t find so many verses in the Bible about praying when difficult times arise. If you look at the condition of our nation and your stomach starts to churn with worry, the only healthy recourse is to pray. Pretending that nothing is wrong in order to protect yourself from anxiety will not bring the power of God on the scene. God made prayer available to you during your time here on earth in great part because of the prevalence of anxiety-causing conditions.” (Excerpt taken from pages 19-20; First of All, Pray: Prescription for a Nation in Crisis; © 2013–Dorothy Frick)
In American history, the first Thanksgiving followed a time of extreme hardships for those who celebrated it. The Pilgrims left their homeland in England, and then Holland, primarily to escape religious persecution. Of the 120 passengers who set sail in 1620, only 53 were still alive for the first Thanksgiving, November, 1621.
You would think that the exposure to the elements, disease, and death which stalked the group, wiping out half of their number, would shroud the rest of them with hopelessness and despair, but despite the harsh trials, these believers chose to thank God instead. They knew how to lift up their eyes from the daunting circumstances surrounding them to fix their gaze and adoration on the Lord and Savior who had never left them without comfort. Such was the caliber of the men and women who left their homes to secure for themselves a new homeland where they could be free to worship God as they saw fit. These dear souls, by their heartfelt love of God and perseverance, blazed a trail that the rest of us privileged to live here could follow.
You, also, may be facing extreme difficulty in your life. Our nation, itself, is suffering under escalating levels of discord, disillusionment, and despair. Despite all that is going on around you, though, the witness of that little band of Pilgrims and their native guests has stood firm throughout the centuries ever since. Here is their message to you, alive in 2013:
Give thanks to the Lord. Give thanks, and do not cease to give thanks. Do not ask your circumstances, your body, your bank account, or the daily news if you should give thanks to God; give thanks, and when you are finished—give thanks!
Dorothy
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