HoHum:
There is an insurance commercial where an internet influencer says into her phone: “Hey, fam. I am at this beautiful lake that I just discovered. Practicing gratitude, manifesting abundance”
WBTU:
Laugh at that every time but it is true that practicing gratitude does make a difference (that manifesting abundance is hard for me to grasp). I remember ministering at a large church (250 when I came) and things went well for the first few years, able to use my gifts and talents to bring healing to a troubled church. Then things got out of hand for me. I doubted that I was making a difference. I felt like I was to blame for the downturn. Attendance was down by about 100 people, baptisms were a thing of the past, and offerings were failing to provide what was necessary for the budget. Bright spot was a new youth minister but I was floundering. Had not met with the elders for 3 months and that was fine with me, leave me alone so I can do my ministry of preaching and visiting people. Next time I met with the elders they said that had been meeting without me and wanted to know what my vision was for the church. I said that the next time we would meet I would have something definite. I had nothing. The next meeting I told them that I felt like I was not the person to take them to the next level. I would be seeking another ministry but to give some time. They didn’t give any time. I was released from my position within a few days. I felt like getting out of full time preaching ministry. I sought associate positions but nothing, who wants to hire someone who was just let go. The money situation was dreadful (they gave me severance pay but it ran out so fast). I sought jobs around town but no one would hire me. I was finally hired by Walmart but they let me go after 3 months. This was 2008 with the Great Recession. For me it turned into a Great Depression. I felt worthless and a detriment to my family. I was a failure. During this past summer went through a series called Red Letter Prayer Life by Bob Hostetler. Talks about Jesus teaching on prayer. This one is called pray gratefully. Bob talks about his own bought with depression. He said, “I’m convinced the biggest contributor to my recovery was prayer.” I would say an Amen to that. I struggled in prayer during 2008; at times I would just sit there with nothing to say. Other times I would cry. Other times I was just angry. I had a struggle with gratitude. I focused on what I lacked instead of the abundance I had. It’s hard to practice gratitude when creditors are constantly knocking. My mental health was improved when I counted my blessings instead of my failures. Bob said, “God is my salvation from depression, and prayer was a daily means of grace to me.” Again an Amen from me. Good practice Bob got into: “I determined never to lay my head on my pillow for the night without recording at least 3 prayers of thanks.” I need to give thanks for my wife and children. Need to give thanks for food and the house where I live. Need to give thanks for my relationship with Jesus. Now there are other things that we need to do to overcome depression, more than just prayer and reading the Bible. Don't want to be irresponsible and just say that is all that is needed, not everything is a spiritual problem. Even so, Bob says, “Nonetheless I believe that praying gratefully was tremendously influential in overcoming my depression.”
Thesis: Gospels record several places where Jesus gave thanks.
For instances:
A. John 11:38-44
Focusing on vs. 41-42. Thank you that you have heard me- vs. 41. Was that a thank you for a prayer He had already prayed? For something He was praying as He talked to Martha? Did He receive some subtle assurance that the Father had been listening? Was He thanking the Father in advance for the resurrection of Lazarus? Not sure but we do know a few things here:
1. Jesus said thank you. Notice that the one from whom "all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities” (Colossians 1:16), said thank you. The One who commands legions of angels. The One who calms the seas and raises the dead. The Son of God said, “thank you for hearing me.” If anyone could have taken it for granted that His prayers would be heard, it would have been Jesus. Jesus took no such thing for granted. He said thank you.
2. He said it aloud for the benefit of others. He could have said a silent prayer of thanks. But he lifted his eyes and said thank you aloud. He even went on to specify that He did it that way for the benefit of others- vs. 42. Like a parent who thanks the cashier at the grocery store or the crossing guard on the way to school while his or her child watches, Jesus thanked the Father visibly and verbally so that others might learn from his example.
3. He said it aloud so others may believe that the Father sent him- vs. 42. The Son’s grateful prayer to the Father- especially right before the raising of Lazarus from the dead- helped to establish his credentials. The prayer was a witness to the person and mission of Jesus Christ.
It is much the same way when we pray gratefully. Need to give thanks to the Father. When we do, this acts as a vaccine and antidote to depression, discouragement, bitterness, and resentment. This sets an example to others who might hear. They witness the presence and influence of God in our lives. Say to a child who has received a gift: “Now, what do you say?” Say thank you. Say it sincerely. Say it often. Say it habitually.
B. Matthew 11:2-6, 10-11, 14-26
Focusing on vs. 25-26. This was a tough time for Jesus and his cousin John. John was arrested and tossed into a filthy dungeon. Things looked bleak for John. Then John sent a couple of his disciples to Jesus with a message: “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” Vs. 3. Ouch, apparently John didn’t like the way things were going for Jesus. John was having doubts. That seemed to set Jesus off, as Matthew tells the story. Jesus sent a message back to John and praised his cousin, saying, “Of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist.” Then Jesus went on to talk about how fickle people are and then He “began denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed” vs. 20. Then something strange happened, Jesus gave thanks vs. 25-26. What a unusual time to give thanks? Even in the midst of discouraging circumstances, Jesus prayed gratefully. He saw the Father at work; even though things appeared to be going not so well. What an example. So- having a tough week, or month, or holiday season, say, “Thank you anyway.” Car broke down? Stuck in traffic? Say, “Thank you anyway.” Had to miss work because couldn’t afford to put gas in the car? “Thank you anyway.” The Bible says, “Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” 1 Thessalonians 5:18. Sounds crazy but need this to…
1. Open our eyes. Vs. 25. When going through tough times and we start thanking God in the midst of those tough times, it is amazing how quickly our mind clears and our eyes are opened to the multitude of things that are going right. What before seemed like an unredeemable mess becomes an opportunity for grace or witness or even laughter.
2. Lift our spirits. In the midst of the storm we might say thanks grudgingly at first. But it is hard to say thank you for very long without feeling our spirits life, our strength return, and- sometimes- seeing our situation improve. Try it. Imitate Jesus. This kind of praying can turn a threatening storm cloud into showers of blessing.
3. Glorify God. Vs. 26. Just as my children watch me say thank you to a store clerk or a restaurant server, people are watching us. And when they see or hear us say, “Thank you anyway,” they may “see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven” Matthew 5:16. They may someday ask why things don’t affect us the same way they seem to affect other people. Love people and lead them to a relationship with Jesus Christ.
C. Luke 24:28-31
On the day Jesus was resurrected, Jesus appeared to 2 on the road to Emmaus. Somewhere on that 7 mile journey, Jesus asked to walk with them, though they didn’t recognize Him. They agreed and talked with Jesus about Jesus and all the things that had everyone talking, and still they didn’t recognize Jesus. When they reached their home in Emmaus we find this account. He took bread and blessed it and broke it and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened. Luke doesn’t tell us whether it was the blessing of the bread, the breaking of it, or the offering of it- or all of this- that opened their eyes. He doesn’t say if there was something clearly characteristic of Jesus in the way He did all of this. He simply says that when He did that, they recognized Him. Nothing could have been more common, more ordinary, for Jewish people in the 1st century, than to take bread, bless it, break it, and share it. Even today, when an observant Jew takes a piece of bread in his hands, he will pray, “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the ground.” It is a simple prayer of thanks. For whatever reason, in whatever way, His grateful prayer revealed Jesus to them. As Jesus said thank you in such a common way at such an ordinary time, so saying thank you always and everywhere will invite the presence of Jesus and transform the simplest meal into a resurrection appearance. We could think of communion here but these 2 were not at that meal from what the Gospels tell us. We need to say grace before our Thanksgiving meal. This is where these 2 recognized Jesus- may we as well. Anne Lamont, in her book Help Thanks Wow, wrote: “Gratitude runs the gamut from shaking our heads and saying, ‘Thanks, wow, I appreciate it so much,’ for our continued health, or a good day at work, or the first blooms of the daisies in the park, to saying, ‘Thanks, that’s a relief,’ when it’s not the transmission, or an abscess, or an audit notice from the IRS. ‘Thanks’ can be the recognition that we have been blessed mildly, or with a feeling as intense as despair at the miracle of having been spared. We can say thank you, thank you, for my wife is going to live. We get to stay in this house. They found my son: he’s in jail, but he’s alive; we know where he is and he’s safe for the night. Things could’ve gone either way, but they came down on our side. It could have been much worse, and it wasn’t. And of course, gratitude can be for everything in between.” Give thanks for the ability to give thanks.
Psalm 150:6- Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD
