From Pilgrims to
Prayer
Well, in keeping with the obvious theme of November, I was
trying to research some answers as to how may times giving thanks is mentioned
in the Bible. I found a varied number of guesses, and ultimately came across
only one that satisfied me as an accurate answer. A reader had written the
following question:
“How many times is thanks or giving thanks mentioned in
the Bible?”
The wise pagemaster’s response?
“Not enough.”
It’s true…I am not finding fault with the Bible or saying God
wasn’t thinking when he didn’t put enough thanks in there...because there are
PLENTY. The reason I was blown away by the answer was that the Bible could
never contain enough accounts of thanks unless it never ceased being written.
As it is, in the King James version:
The word thanks appears
73 times
The word thanksgiving
appears 28 times
The word thank
appears 27 times
The word thanked
appears 3 times
The word thankful
appears 3 times
The word thanksgivings
appears 2 times
The word thankfulness appears
1 time
The word thanking
appears 1 time
The word thankworthy
appears 1 time
I was kind of shocked that there wasn’t more…God doesn’t ask
all that much of us in proportion to what He has done for us.
In November, you will hear many jolly accounts of the
Pilgrims and Squanto and how they all made turkey and pumpkin pie together on
the 1st Thanksgiving. You will watch many a Thanksgiving dinner
being eaten in some holiday movie or your favorite sitcom, and you will most
likely say “grace” before you plunge into your mashed potatoes and gravy on the
big day, even if the people you are with are unsaved.
But do we really realize all that we have to be thankful for? And doesn’t it seem like such a very,
very small request from the Lord to just open our mouths and let Him know we
appreciate how He watches out for us?
When He healed the ten lepers, the thing He recognized first
was that only one came back to thank Him….
Luke 17:11-19 - As Jesus continued on toward
Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a
village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, crying out, “Jesus, Master, have
mercy on us!” He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.”
And as they went, their leprosy disappeared. One of them, when he saw that he
was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God, I’m healed!” He fell
face down on the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This
man was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten
men? Where are the other nine? Does only this foreigner return to give glory to
God?” And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has made
you well.” (NLT)
On of the telltale signs of the last days is that men will
be ungrateful (2 Tim. 3:9). Romans 1:21 also tells us “…They knew God, but they
glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their
imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” (KJVS)
Of all the things I deserve to be incriminated for or could
rightfully be accused of, I don’t want to be guilty of ingratitude. And God
forbid we only take time once a year to give Him a comprehensive list of
thanks. The truth is, the majority of my prayers consist not of questions or
requests, but thanks…not because I am super-spiritual or exceedingly humble,
but because sometimes those are the only prayers I can have faith in. I never
know; I could be asking amiss in my requests or being disrespectful to God with
my questions, but my simple thanks cannot be out of line. Gratitude has nothing
to do with anything I’ve done and everything to do with making Him the object
of praise.
So this Thanksgiving, I’m making a BIG list of things to be
thankful for – I mean twice as long as all the Christmas wish lists I’ve made
since age four. I’m going to thank Him for everything from salvation, freedom
and forgiveness to things like post-it notes, dental floss, and waterproof
mascara…He deserves it.
Psa. 92:1 It is
good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to the Most High.
Psa. 97:12 May all
who are godly be happy in the LORD and praise his holy name!
Psa. 105:1 Give
thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he
has done.
Psa. 106:1 Praise
the LORD! Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!
Written by Jennifer Yakopin