Intentional Thanksgiving

 “Hey everybody, Johnny Mathis is in Mathis, Texas today. If you’re in the area, stop by and say hello to this music legend.” We couldn’t believe what we heard on the radio. My friend and I were young college students on our way back from the Texas coast and we were one exit away from Mathis, Texas.

“Should we do it? Should we pull off and meet Johnny Mathis?” my friend asked.

“Why not?” I saw it as an adventure and a lot more exciting than a gas stop.

So we intentionally exited the highway to meet Mathis and take a photo with him.

It required slowing down.

It required adjusting our agenda.

It required a certain boldness to charge into a group of locals celebrating their town’s namesake.

What if we treated thankfulness this way?

We slow down our pace to think about who and what we are thankful for.

We adjust our agenda to tell those people why we are thankful for them.

And we boldly praise them, without fear of rejection.

I think you will find when you praise people more, it will draw them closer to you.

In the same way Scripture says we must be intentional about praising God. The way we draw near to God is through praise. In fact, the main reason we should seek him is so we can praise and thank him. (Psalm 22:26).

What prayer do you need answered today?

Seek God and praise him.

Seeking him first above all things is the key to answered prayer.

This concept, a bit of a paradox, is found in Matthew 6:33: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.”

So instead of starting with the list of needs as our priority, we should list off words of praise. God already knows what we need, so if we lather him with praise and a thankful spirit, the answered prayer follows.

Think about all the healings Jesus performed in the Gospels. Most began with a spirit of humility and praise.

Before the leper was healed he knelt before Jesus (Matthew 8:2).

Before the synagogue leader, Jairus, asked Jesus to heal his daughter, he fell at Jesus’ feet (Mark 5:22).

Without asking, a crippled woman was healed by Jesus, and the first thing she did was straighten up and praise God (Luke 13:13).

We have to be intentional about thanksgiving, whether we are thanking God, or the people in our lives. For most of us, it doesn’t come naturally, but it should come first. We have to pull off our busy schedules, slow down and be intentional about thanking those who have made a difference in our lives.

Thanksgiving, a holiday set aside for thankfulness, is a good time to start. But our challenge is to extend this spirit of Thanksgiving throughout the year.

“But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who long for your saving help always say, “The Lord is great!” (Psalm 40:16)