Main Text
Psalms 67:1-7
Watchword
Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.
John 11:41 NKJV
The principle that is at work in this text is we glorify God by believing in His promises.
Instead of beginning with a request, the Lord began with thanksgiving that the Father “heard” Him. We must learn to gratefully acknowledge God’s goodness in answering our prayers (Psalm 116:1-2) Jesus is our exemplar, we must not only have the thankful feeling, but we must express it (Psalm 66:16-17). The power of this prayer was rooted in faith. Jesus was confident in His relationship with God the Father.
Jesus begins His prayer with thanksgiving to God, He gave thanks in the midst of the battle over death. The ability to give thanks in the midst and before battle begins, for the victory, is where the people of faith come in, and these are the people who believe God before anything happens. These are the people who are celebrating before the war, and these are the people saying, “Lord I see a problem coming but I am going to believe you for victory in the midst of it all. (1Thessalonians 5:16-18). Jesus gave thanks not just for what He wanted, but for the manifestation of who He is.
Thanksgiving qualifies you for another act of favor from God. Testimony commits God to do more (Proverbs 3:9-10), and it propels the testifier to a great height (Psalms 18:1-3), because strength and courage is released, when you thank God. So, what we gain in gratitude, is that it accelerates the manifestation of our expectations by multiplying the acts of God in our lives (John 6:11-12). Appreciation releases the unction for multiplication; God multiplies His acts in the lives of grateful
believers.
Confession
Heavenly father, thank you for your great love, care, mercy and grace because you are always with us and will never leave us.
Prayer
Oh Lord, I love you and I need you, this day and every day. Amen.
Additional Reading
Matthew 11:25-26
John 13:31-32.