Thanksgiving Leads To Deliverance

# 52 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, (1 Tim 2:1) Paul is passing instructions along to Timothy as to “how to do church.” First of all he stresses what Jesus stressed, “My house shall be a house of prayer!” We have been looking at the different aspects of prayer and today we'll talk about the giving of thanks. To give thanks is to verbally express gratefulness. So our corporate times of prayer ought to include expressions of gratitude to God and why not? He is the Potter, we are the clay, and we are mere players gifted with physical life and the opportunity for eternal life. Created by Him, loved by Him and allowed to be participants in this universe that He has created and one day will restore to it's beautiful perfection! No, we should have no problem giving thanks to God! Yet, there are times of suffering and angst when we struggle with giving thanks, but God encourages us to give thanks anyway! 1Th 5:18 says, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Case in point: Jonah. Imagine Jonah, swallowed up in the absolute darkness of the belly of a great fish. He must be wondering, “where am I? Why am I still alive?” “Is there any hope for me in my present situation?” Well, we aren't privy to his exact thoughts but in the midst of these terrible conditions, look what he did, he gave thanks! Jon 2:9 “But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving;” He had no way of building an altar and offering a sacrifice, but he could offer up an offering of thanksgiving. Look how the Lord responded in v10, “So the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” It wasn't pretty, but Jonah was delivered from what looked like a hopeless situation, and he was released shortly after he expressed thankfulness to God. We often bemoan the spiritual condition of the world and the church today, maybe we ought to spend some time in thankful praying, supplicating, and interceding together as the Body of Christ and then wait and see what the Lord might do? Father, remind us often to be a thankful people!