The other day I was praying to the Lord about some health issues I was having. I was asking why in Scripture people would ask the Lord Jesus if He was willing to heal them, and He would respond “yes”, but He had not been responding yes to me. I was complaining to the Lord. We might sometimes complain, but we should never stay there.
Just as the Lord inhabits our praises, the devil makes his camp in our complaints. “But You are holy, You who inhabit the praises of Israel” (Psalm 22:3 WEB).
It is not enough to know God; you must also be thankful to Him. “because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21).
Still, if we have a complaint, we should trust Him enough to say it. We need to trust God enough to tell Him how we feel. He knows what is in your heart, so when you tell Him it shows that you trust Him. We all go through so much, and we are most blessed when we can go to our Lord and pour out our hearts to Him.
When God is silent, He is teaching you to trust Him. “Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah” (Psalm 62:8).
In whatever you are going through, He has you. “And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 31:8).
Don’t focus on your problems, but the Lord who is helping you through them. “There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor” (Deuteronomy 33:26 NLT).
God was using my circumstances to teach me something. He wanted me to be thankful in my prayers. He reminded me that He had just healed me of a few things. Right away I felt led to be thankful for the good He had done and not what yet remained. So, in my prayers, I started thanking Him for all He had done for me. And then I started seeing in Scripture how much prayer and thankfulness go together.
Never give up in your prayers knowing He will never give up on you. “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2).
Being thankful is being in the will of God. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Thankfulness is the path into the Father’s heart. “giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).
Being thankful towards God puts us in a right relationship with God. As we thank Him, it shows we believe He is a good God and He is a loving God. If we want to draw near to God, we must have a thankful heart. “Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving…” (Psalm 95:2).
When we give God our thanks, it aligns our hearts with His. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).
We need to praise Him for Who He is. “Praise the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for His mercy endures forever…[let us be] those who will bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord…” (Jeremiah 33:11).
The more that you know God, the more you will thank Him. “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, and bless His name” (Psalm 100:4).
Over several days, I just kept thanking God for all the healing He had given to me. Then the blessings kept coming, and more healing took place. I believe that when we thank and praise God for who He is, there is a deeper connection we will have with Him. Whether He heals you or not, He is still a good God.
Thankfulness to God is believing and trusting in all that He can do. “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for You are my praise” (Jeremiah 17:14).
Praise Him for what He has done that you would be encouraged in whatever you are going through. “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever” (1 Chronicles 16:34).
A thankful heart heals from the inside out. “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones” (Proverbs 17:22).
To realize your blessings, just try to count them. “Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered” (Psalm 40:5 NKJV).
Blessings to you,
Paul Balius
All Scripture is quoted from the New King James Version unless otherwise noted. Please use the version you prefer to review the verses shown here. The best version is the one you read. An even better version is the one you live.
Thankyou for faithfully sending these emails, this one particularly has encouraged and blessed . God bless you
You are most welcome and thank you for your kind words. Blessings to you!
Thank you, sir, so beautifully put and blessed me. I have been having some issues with walking long distances and stand for long periods. Yesterday morning I attended 9:30 church service. When the worship team started. I didn’t feel like standing up so, I asked, God, to help me, and He did. I managed to stand up for prayer and worship with joy.
As the second worship song continued, the worship leader said “If you love Him” step up to the altar, to worship and praise God! I immediately stepped up and joined in to worship Him.
I began to sing and this worship song with gestures ” I lift my hands to give you glory, I lift my hands to give you praise”. As I continued to lift my hands, my feet started moving side to side, 1- step up, and 1-step back.
By the end of the worship, I had felt healing as I, his love saturating the atmosphere. I had been standing, and praising, My heavenly Father, for 45 minutes without pain. Thank You, God!
What a beautiful story you have here! We have such a loving God, and He blesses us in the little things but in huge ways. I think He is just waiting to pour out blessings on us when our heart is open and able to receive them. Prayers for your ongoing blessings from God.
I love that in the midst of your sharing about how Thanksgiving opens the doors for us to be close to God and for God to work— that you included the small caveat of “whether God heals you or not”. That is the truth. Not that God will always respond our way due to a formula as many preach today.
Thank you for this blessed article
You are so right, many preach to formulas, and God is not bound by the rules of man. We see in Scripture that sometimes God does not heal us such that He can keep us in a place where He can use us. The Apostle prayed for healing, but praised God when he was not healed knowing that for that “thorn in the flesh” he was given, would produce more if it remained. Thank you for your kind words, blessings to you.