“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.”
The way into God’s presence is through praise and thanksgiving. No matter what you are going through, whether you are struggling or on top of your game, praise and thanksgiving cause us to refocus from ourselves and our circumstances back onto God In doing so, we preserve ourselves from discouragement or pride and allow God to move in our lives and influence those around us.
Praise and thanksgiving are the way we give honor, reverence and respect to Him who sits on the throne. It is a way of declaring our dependence and faith in God. It opens the way for God to act on our behalf and for His name to be glorified. We are so often in such a hurry that we simply rush into God’s presence with our petitions and requests and fail to honor Him in our prayers and in our lives. We are so consumed with needs and agendas that we fail to promote His Name, Word and will. Lord, not my kingdom, but your kingdom; not my will, but your will be done.
We see this so aptly illustrated in the life of Daniel. Daniel 6:10 says that after the king had signed the law stating that no one could petition any other god but him, Daniel “went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.” Three times a day Daniel reminded himself who had made him great. Three times a day he thanked God and declared his dependence on God. Praise and thanksgiving to God was a lifestyle for Daniel in times of success and when his very life was being threatened.
Daniel’s lifestyle of continually praising and giving thanks to God was so apparent that it became the center of the enemys attack and also the source of Daniel’s greatest deliverance. Daniel’s lifestyle had so impacted the king that before throwing Daniel into the lions, he declared, "Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you." (Daniel 6:16) After Daniel’s deliverance the king passed a new decree in Daniel 6:26-28.
“I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, and steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end. He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”
We truly serve an awesome God! May He be glorified in and through you as you serve Him continually with praise and thanksgiving to His glorious Name.
Andy Clark
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