Powerful Prayers of Thanksgiving

The New Testament apostles pioneered many different prayers for us, as we discover in their letters. They are powerful prayers because they express, not only the heart of the apostles, but the heart of God. They show His desire to light the world with the Gospel, to bless and strengthen His people, and bring them to completeness in Christ.

      These prayers flow easily from the pens of the apostles, often spontaneously and with great passion. They arise out of an intimate relationship with the Father and a constant reliance upon the Holy Spirit. They have five main focuses: evangelistic, pastoral, benediction, doxology and thanksgiving.

      Evangelistic prayers are ground-breaking prayers. They prepare the fields, and the laborers, for sowing the Gospel and for laying the foundations of local Christian fellowships.

      Pastoral prayers are watering prayers. They help establish Christians in the faith, both as individuals and as congregations, to grow in grace and in intimate relationship with God, and become a servant community in partnership with the Lord Jesus Christ.

      Benedictions are also watering prayers, pouring forth with the authority of heaven to bless and minister the promises of God to His people.

      Doxologies are prayers that declare the praiseworthiness of God and give Him glory. The apostolic purpose is all about God from beginning to end, for He is both the One who sends and the One who gives the increase. Therefore, He deserves all glory, honor and praise.

      Finally, there are the prayers of  thanksgiving. These are prayers that return praise to the “Lord of the Harvest” for what He is doing in and through His people. Prayers of thanksgiving are unique to Paul among the New Testament epistles. They are often found at the beginning of his letters, expressing gratitude for the work of God in the churches, especially in their examples of faith and love. Paul was profusely thankful. For him, the giving of thanks was an important spiritual issue:

• “Be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks to God for everything” (Ephesians 5.18-20). Thankfulness is a vital expression of the Spirit-filled life and a joy-filled heart.

• “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4.6). Thankfulness is an antidote to anxiety, expressing faith rather than fear.

• “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3.17). Thankfulness is never out of place, but belongs with all we say and do in Jesus’ name.

• “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful” (Colossians 4.2).  Thankfulness helps us stay spiritually alert. It is the oil that lubricates prayer, as we declare the goodness and trustworthiness of the Lord. Thankfulness creates a divine expectation about what God is doing.

• “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5.16-18). Thankfulness is always appropriate, and it empowers us in every situation.

• “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Timothy 2.1,2). Thankfulness for everyone contributes to a peaceful, godly and holy life.

      Prayers of thanksgiving flow from an attitude of gratefulness, but they are specific in nature. They detail the particular aspects of God’s gracious ways and acts of kindness. In this way, they become a testimony, to ourselves as well as to others, of what God is doing.

      Paul offered many prayers of thanksgiving in his epistles. Here are three of them, each followed by a “prayer action” to help you personalize and pray them back to the Lord.

Thanks for World-Changing Faith

I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the Gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you. (Romans 1.8-10)

When whole households of citizens and slaves at Rome came to faith in Jesus Christ, news of it spread quickly to churches throughout the Empire. Paul received this testimony and desired to visit the church at Rome, even though he had not been directly associated with it. “I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” (vv. 11,12). He wanted to share in a vital relationship with them centered around the fellowship of the Gospel. He was already committed to a different mission, however, and it would be some time before he would be able to join them. Until then he would consistently remember them with thanksgiving and prayer.

Prayer Action: Give thanks for the testimony of all those who have received the Lord Jesus Christ, and for the opportunity to fellowship with them in the mutual encouragement of faith.

Thanks for Being Greatly Enriched and Fully Equipped

I always thank God for you because of His grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in Him you have been enriched in every way — in all your speaking and in all your knowledge — because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.

      Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

      God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. (1 Corinthians 1.4-9)

The Christians at Corinth had a lot of problems—attitudes needing adjustment, situations requiring instruction, abuses calling for rebuke and correction—and yet, there was much about them for which Paul was thankful. From this position of thankfulness, he was able to bring about positive change in their lives. The Lord had given them a good start, and because Paul was thankful, he was able to trust God to bring them through to maturity.

      God had given the Corinthians grace in Jesus Christ, so that they were now enriched in every way. This manifested in their speaking (“all utterance” NKJV) and knowledge. This was speech and knowledge given to them by the Holy Spirit—it did not come from them, but flowed through them. In this way the Gospel of Jesus Christ was confirmed in them, because it was evident that they did not lack any spiritual gift. Although these gifts were being misused, and this needed to be addressed in 1 Corinthians 12-14, Paul was confident that God would keep the Corinthians strong to the end, and they would be blameless before the Lord Jesus Christ at His return.

Prayer Action: Give thanks that you have been given grace in Jesus Christ, so that you are now enriched in every way. That the testimony of Jesus is confirmed in you, and you do not lack in any spiritual gift. That the same Holy Spirit who flowed through the Corinthians with all utterance and knowledge, will also do the same for you. That God is faithful, and will keep you strong so that you will make it to the finish line. For He has called you into the fellowship of the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be found blameless before Him at His return.

Thanks for Victory Through Jesus

Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15.57)

God gives us victory over death through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where O death, is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15.53-57)

This victory is not just over death, but also over sin and the law of God. The law condemned us because of sin, for sin is the sting that leads to death, but Christ has fulfilled the law (Matthew 5.17) and carried our sins in His own body to the cross (2 Corinthians 5.21; 1 Peter 2.24).

This victory is also over the devil, for the Bible says that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3.8). This has already been done by the power of God, “which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion. . . . And God placed all things under His feet” (Ephesians 1.20-22). “All things” includes the devil and his works. They are placed under our feet as well, for we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies (Ephesians 2.6). This is not a future hope but a present reality which we can experience now. The devil no longer has any power over us. All that is left is for us to learn how to walk in the victory Jesus has given us. It is a walk of faith. The Bible says, “This is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 5.4).

Prayer Action: Give thanks that God always gives you the victory through Jesus Christ. “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15.58).

There are at least a dozen more prayers of thanksgiving found in the New Testament epistles. You will find each one to be of great benefit to you in cultivating a life of gratitude and a deeper fellowship with the Lord.

• Give thanks for our triumphal procession in Jesus (2 Corinthians 2:14)

• Give thanks for God’s indescribable gift (2  Corinthians 9:15)

• Give thanks for faith in Jesus and love for his people (Ephesians 1:15-16)

• Give thanks for partnership in the Gospel (Philippians 1:3-6)

• Give thanks for faith and love springing from hope (Colossians 1:3-5)

• Give thanks for active faith, diligent love, enduring hope (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3)

• Give thanks for receptivity to the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

• Give thanks for joy in the harvest (1 Thessalonians 3:9)

• Give thanks for growing in faith and increasing in love (2 Thessalonians 1:3)

• Give thanks for being loved, chosen, sanctified and called (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14)

• Give thanks for the abundance of God’s grace (1 Timothy 1:12-14)

• Give thanks for godly relationships and a godly inheritance (2 Timothy 1:3-4)

© 2004 Jeff Doles

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