Now that we are enjoying Thanksgiving time, allow me to remind you just how important thanksgiving is in the act of worship.
Here’s a scenario: Many times at the beginning of a long trip we pray for God’s blessings upon us, for travel mercies, and for mercy. We may even be specific about praying to keep the deer to the sides of the road, etc. But, once we arrive at our destination, do we then take time to say thank you? It should be just as natural as asking for God’s blessings.
How does God feel about lack of thanks? Jesus addressed the subject in Luke 17:11-19:
“Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off, and they lifted up their voices and said, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ So when He saw them, He said to them, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, ‘Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?’ And He said to him, ‘Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.’”
True worship must include thanks. In preparing a personal study about thanks, I looked in some of my old hymnals and found a particularly beautiful prayer in the Book of Common Prayer:
“Let us give thanks to God our Father for all His gifts so freely bestowed upon us.
For the beauty and wonder of Your creation, in earth and sky and sea,
We thank You, Lord.
For all that is gracious in the lives of men and women, revealing the image of Christ,
We thank You, Lord
For our daily food and drink, our homes and families, and our friends,
We thank You, Lord.
For minds to think, and hearts to love, and hands to serve, We thank You, Lord.
For health and strength to work, and leisure to rest and play,
We thank You, Lord.
For the brave and courageous, who are patient in suffering and faithful in adversity,
We thank You, Lord.
For all the valiant seekers after truth, liberty and justice, We thank You, Lord.
For the communion of the saints in all times and places, We thank You, Lord.
Above all, we give you thanks for the great mercies and promise given to us in Christ
Jesus our Lord; To Him be praise and glory, with You, O Father, and the Holy Spirit,
now and for ever. Amen.”
Have a blessed Thanksgiving. (John Francis is the worship specialist for the Missouri Baptist Convention and produces MoWorship, a monthly worship podcast available at www.mobaptist.org/worship.)