The rarest (and best?) way to give thanks

Recently, I spent part of a morning sketching the first graders in Jill Strahan’s class on the next-to-last day of school.  As I finished and was about to walk out the door, she handed me a booklet the children had put together thanking me for drawing them.

The booklet was not unlike many I’ve received before, childish drawings throughout, with festive sentences saying “Thank you, Mister Joe, for drawing me” and “Thank you for coming to our school.” One or two said, “You are a good drawer.”

It occurred to me later that Jill had led the class to make that booklet before I ever arrived (since there would not be time afterwards). So, the children had thanked me for a job well done before I ever did it.

They had thanked me by faith.

My pastor friend and mentor, Dr. James Richardson, in Heaven for a decade now, enjoyed telling of the time he spoke at the graduation commencement in one of our Southern Baptist seminaries.  Outside the chapel, as the entourage was lining up to make their entrance for the service, the president handed James an envelope containing a check for expenses and a letter of appreciation.

James laughed, “The letter thanked me for delivering one of the most inspiring commencement addresses they had ever had!”

High praise by faith, I suppose.

For many years, I have interceded with the Lord for a particular family member who has seemed to have little use for God.  A few months ago, I sensed the Lord saying it was all right to quit asking and begin thanking Him for answering my prayers. That came with a wonderful lifting of my burden for that person. Thereafter, my prayers were words of thanksgiving in appreciation and in advance for what the Lord was going to do. In the months since, we have been given evidence that the Lord is indeed at work in the life of that one. I’m still thanking Him.

Since all prayer is an activity of faith–praying to One we cannot see and are unable to prove, asking for what we may never see given, but continuing steadfastly to intercede–adding one more element to our prayer strategy is no stretch: thanking the Lord in advance.

Now, anyone can thank the Lord for what He has done, and that’s a good thing to do. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities, heals all your diseases, etc.” (Psalm 103:2ff.)

And, we sometimes wisely thank Him for what He has not done “He has not dealt with us according to our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” (Psalm 103:10)

But, let us take the next step and give Him thanks for what He will yet do.

–“Father, thank you for whatever comes my way tomorrow. You have promised to use it in my life and use me for Thy glory. So, thank you, in advance.”

–“Thank you for the new people you will send into my neighborhood and into my life. For the new challenges I will be facing in the future. And for your faithfulness and blessings throughout.”

–“Lord, thank you for blessing me in my old age (the part of it still to come!).”

–“Thank you, Father, for blessing me in my last days and through my final passage from this life to the next.”

–“And my Lord, thank you for bringing me safely to the Father’s House and for ‘the Kingdom prepared for me from the foundation of the world’.”

–“I thank You for taking care of my loved ones, my three children and their families, as they grow into the mature years and beyond, for keeping them safe and well, for guiding their decisions, supplying their finances, and giving them great joy in the Lord.”

–“Thank you too for overseeing and securing the lives of our eight grandchildren, whom we expect to outlive Grandma and me by many decades.  I thank you for blessing their choice of life-mates, for guiding them into the right careers, leading them to good churches, and making their entire lives fruitful for Thee.”

–“For these and all thy many blessings, Father, we give thee thanks.”

–“Oh, and Lord, thank you for the surprises that lie just ahead, blessings I would never have thought of or imagined asking for. I have no idea what they are, of course, but over these 70-plus years, I have learned how you delight in doing good things for your children and surprising them with your grace.”

“Thank you, Lord–for Who you are, what you have done, what you are doing at this moment, and what you will yet do.  Oh, may I be faithful at each step of the process. Thank you.”

 

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