The Struggle of Thanking God

The Struggle of Thanking God

Selected Verse

Establish the need: Do you regularly thank God?

Purpose: Today we shall see three points concerning prayers of thanksgiving towards God so that we be daily thanking God starting today.

• We are commanded to thank God
• Struggles of thanking God
• Helps for thanking God

 

 

We are commanded to thank God

Proof

1. Definition from RC Sproul: “Thanksgiving is an acknowledgement of God and His benefits”[1]
2. Commanded in the Old Testament: “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” (Psalm 107:1)
   1. This is a Psalm written on the occasion of God rescuing and redeeming God’s people.
   2. Here in this first verse of the Psalm there is an imperative to give thanks to God.
3. Commanded in the Old Testament: “I will praise the name of God with song And magnify Him with thanksgiving.” (Psalm 69:30)= Note how we are to “magnify Him with thanksgiving”
4. Commanded in the New Testament: “always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father” (Ephesians 5:20)
   1. Notice we are to give thanks to God for all things.
   2. This thanksgiving is directed towards God.
   3. When we thank God? The verse says always!

Practice

1. Do you thank God?
2. Do you lift His name High when you talk about Him and talk to Him in prayer?

 

 

Struggles of thanking God

Proof

1. Pride: “Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;” (Jeremiah 9:23)
   1. We see the danger of boasting.
   2. Of course boasting is driven by pride.
   3. What are negatives things to boast about? Three things mentioned:
      1. Wisdom: “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom”
      2. Strength: “and let not the mighty man boast of his might”
      3. Riches: “let not a rich man boast of his riches”
   4. If one is prideful they are adoring themselves instead of God.
2. We are anxious: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)
   1. Notice being anxious and be thankful to God are opposite in light of the Greek strong form of contrast translated as “”
   2. So we gather from this that thanksgiving will remove our anxiety but also anxiety can remove our thanksgiving.
3. We complain
   1. Yet complaining is prohibited: “Do all things without grumbling or disputing;.” (Philippians 2:14)
   2. When we are too busy complaining we are too busy being negative, the opposite of being thankful to God.
4. We are too busy enjoying life first; that’s the lesson with the story of Jesus healing the ten lepers in Luke 17:11-19.
   1. This lesson is not an lesson about gratitude per se, since those lepers must have been happy to have been healed. Rather it is a lesson of expressing thanksgiving to Jesus![2]
   2. Its about taking time to give thanks to God and Christ.[3]
5. Unbelief: “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be.” (Romans 1:22)= Notice in people’s unbelief the root problem is not intellectual it is a will that does not want to thank and honor God.

Practice

1. Which one of these roadblocks do you struggle with presently with thanking God in your prayer?
2. Ask someone close to you which are your potential obstacles or a pattern of being an obstacle in your life.

Helps for thanking God

1. Realize complaining is a sin; recall: “Do all things without grumbling or disputing;.” (Philippians 2:14)
   1. Easier said than done! But still, we must fight the problem at the level of watching out for our complaining heart!
   2. Still the following below will also help us to fight against complaining!
2. Remember His benefits: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits.” (Psalm 103:2)
   1. Sit down regularly and intentionally to write down at least a list of ten things you are thankful for. Pray to God about it right now!
   2. Be on the alert to hear what people say to you that God has bless you with. Then thank God for His benefits!
3. Singing to God is helpful: “I will give thanks to the Lord according to His righteousness And will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.” (Psalm 7:17)
   1. In this Psalm David is taking refugee in God even as he has enemies in his life.
   2. Yet in the end of this Psalm David mentioned about giving thanks to God.
   3. Note David says He sings to God.
4. Sometimes when it is really hard and we have really difficult circumstances and enemies: Sing! Sing will propel us to go deeper in being thankful to God.
5. Realize we are to give thanks despite all circumstances: “Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
   1. Notice the verse states we are to give thanks to God in everything.
   2. That include tough and rough times.
   3. Ultimately we always have this to be thankful for: Jesus saving us from our sins!

 

 

[1] RC Sproul, Does Prayer Changes Things (Orlando, Reformation Trust Publishing), Kindle Locations 441.

[2] RC Sproul, Does Prayer Changes Things (Orlando, Reformation Trust Publishing), Kindle Locations 441.

[3] RC Sproul, Does Prayer Changes Things (Orlando, Reformation Trust Publishing), Kindle Locations 441.

ause of Christ!