January 7th
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness. Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, And declare His works with rejoicing. Psalm 107:1-2,8-9 NKJV
How often do you go to God with requests in your prayer times? How often do you simply offer thanks to God for whatever you can think of? My prayer times used to be filled with requests for God to do things for me and for others. While studying the Psalms, I decided to take a different tack in prayer by starting out each day thanking God for whatever I could think of. I discovered that there are more things to be thankful for than I ever realized before. I also discovered that looking for what I can be thankful for increases my own sensitivity and recognition of God’s hand in the situations of my life.
This Psalm reveals a particular aspect of God that we can all be thankful for. God “satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with goodness.” That is an awesome statement, isn’t it? How many times have we tried to fill the longings of our soul with wealth, or sex, or knowledge, or success in our job? Those things will never bring fulfillment because our hunger is a spiritual need that only God can satisfy. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. He has redeemed us from the hand of the enemy and fills our soul with goodness!
Questions for further thought:
What does it mean to make sacrifices of thanksgiving?
How much time have you spent thanking God each day during your quiet times?
What can you do to incorporate giving thanks during your quiet times?
Take a moment to jot down all the things you can thank God for today.
Prayer:
“Heavenly Father, Today I enter your gates with thanksgiving and your courts with praise. I praise you because you are God and there is none like you! Father, thank you for who you are and all the mighty works that you have done on the earth. Thank you for sending Jesus to bring peace between you and me through his death on the cross. Thank you that I have new life available to me through the Holy Spirit who now lives in me! Thank you for creating me with a special purpose in mind. Thank you for blessing me in so many ways – (list them). Please help me to remember all these blessings throughout the day today. May I never tire from thanking you! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”