I Thessalonians 5:17-18 Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you
Not long before Thanksgiving I was talking to some of the students at Bill Rice Bible College here on the Bill Rice Ranch. I asked them, “What are some of your Thanksgiving traditions?” One student from Detroit said their family tradition is watching football every year. So, I said, “Oh, so you watch the Lions lose every year,” which was not nice of me, I know. Another student from Arizona said, “We eat biscuits and gravy every Thanksgiving morning for breakfast.” I said, “I’d like to come to your house. That sounds good.” Another Arizona student said, “We go dove hunting,” and I didn’t even have time to ask her what that meant. I can only imagine. A student from Florida said, “We watch the dog show every Thanksgiving.” I am curious about that one.
Now let me ask you a question, “Is there a difference between thankful and thanksgiving?” The answer is yes. One is the state of receiving, you are full of thanks, and one is an act of giving, thanks is what you are giving; it’s thanksgiving. A lot of people have this idea that if you don’t say thank you and give a thank-you card, then you are not thankful. Now, that is a valid suspicion, no doubt, but I can tell you from personal experience that there have been many times I’ve had the feeling of gratitude for someone but completely failed to acknowledge their graciousness with a word or a card. Later on, I think, “Oh, how could I have forgotten?” I also do that with God. So, just being thankful is not what we are talking about this morning. We are talking about thanksgiving, something you give.
By the way, you have to have an object of that gratitude in order to be giving thanks. Someone can’t validly say, “I’m so thankful. I was lucky enough to…” What? If it is luck, then there is no one to thank. This implies that there is someone who has done a turn for us for which we should give thanks.
I Thessalonians 5:17-18 says, “Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks…” So, the Bible says we are to pray without ceasing. I remember as a kid hearing people in church give testimonies. One gray-haired man in a polyester suit would stand up and say, “Well, I’m grateful that we have freedom to worship in this country.” A mom would stand up and say, “I’m thankful for food and family.” These are things for which I am increasingly grateful, but as a ten-year-old I thought, “How boring and unimaginative. If I had a pair of 220 K2 skies, I’d be thankful for that, but just being alive and able to go to church and have food?” Well, the older I get the more I realize that I’m grateful to even be alive, but as a ten-year-old I thought it was boring.
How often do we pray? The answer is we pray as often as we have a need. Do we pray and give thanks for food, liberty, family, and life itself? How often do you breathe? You breathe as often as necessary to keep you alive. How long do you drive circles in Walmart parking lot to find a space? The answer is until you find a parking spot. How often do you pray? You pray until you get an answer. Now, God doesn’t always say yes, but He always hears. Whatever the answer is, it is what I need. Someone has said “Prayer is never natural until it is necessary.” We are not talking about some act of discipline, although I’m all for discipline, but I am saying that praying without ceasing is just an acknowledgement of my need and God’s power.
The next verse says, “In everything give thanks.” So, unceasing prayer and frequent thanksgiving go hand in hand. That makes sense. I’m going to have as many things to thank God for as I’ve had requests to give to God. I give requests; He gives answers; I give back thanks. Of course, the Bible says, “In everything give thanks.” So, if I break my arm, I may not thank God for my broken arm, but I can certainly thank Him in that and that I broke my arm and not my neck. Thanksgiving will be as constant as the answers I am receiving.
What is your reason for thanksgiving? I think freedom to worship, family, and food are profound reasons for gratitude. Are they your reasons? Do you even see those things? One of the things that may help you to see the big, overarching blessings is to realize what you are worried or uncertain about now and ask a living God to give you what He can provide and you cannot. Worship and gratitude are a result of that. If there is no prayer, then when your pastor says, “What are we thankful for today?” you don’t have a good answer. If I am praying every day, I should and will be thanking every day because unceasing prayer and frequent thanksgiving naturally go hand in hand.