When thinking about what is the most important thing to pray about, we probably think about what is important to us. That is usually the first thing in our minds when we pray, but that is not the most important thing.
Another thing we may think is important is asking forgiveness of sins, because God is not going to hear our prayer if we do not confess our sin to Him or repent. That is actually true, but it is more of a necessity. It is something we have to do.
Then you might say it is the filling power of the Holy Spirit because that is dramatic and life-changing. That is also true. Pastor Kim prays for the filling power of the Holy Spirit a couple of times a day. If there is any fruit from the ministry, it is not because of Pastor Kim, but because of that prayer and the filling power of the Spirit.
Suffering is extremely powerful. Pastor Kim has taught about prayers of blood, and the blood is one of the most powerful elements that would drive away demons. But, in Pastor Kim’s opinion, based on what he believes from the Word of God, those are not the most important things in prayer.
The most important thing in prayer to God is thanksgiving.
When we think about thanks, it is to give Him credit. When we give Him credit, we are praising Him. When we are praising Him, we realize one of the number-one things about God: it is about His glory.
Moses was able to change the mind of God in prayer because he concentrated on His glory. No wonder, in Pastor Kim’s opinion, thanksgiving would be the most important thing in prayer because it concentrates on His glory. If you utilize this tool mightily for the Lord, then you are going to see a lot of powerful answers in prayer.
E. M. Bounds said that prayer and thanksgiving are basically interchangeable. They form a repetitive cycle: when you pray to the Lord, thanks will have to come out, and whenever you thank the Lord, prayer will have to come out. He said that thanksgiving concentrates on the past, whereas prayer concentrates on the future.
Thanksgiving is firmly ingrained with prayer. You cannot separate the two. The sad thing is this: if thanksgiving is the most important thing in prayer, perhaps it is also one of the least things we pray about. We are sooner to pray from a list of all the needs of people, but we forget to thank Him.
If this is the most important thing, why is it probably the most neglected?
Pastor Kim has to admit that he is guilty of this. He has started to learn more to include thanksgiving in his prayer. Even with normal prayer requests, he has to include thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving Is a Basic Part of Prayer
The first thing to understand is that thanksgiving is basic.
There is one thing that you do not neglect in praying. You might neglect many things, and you might neglect your prayer habit or prayer walk, but there is one thing you do not dare skip in prayer: thanking the Lord for your food before you eat. Because of that, thanksgiving should be basic. If that is something we do not even dare skip, why do we make it the least priority if it is the most basic?
Look at what Jesus did.
Matthew 26:26-27: “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;”
Jesus Christ, before partaking in the meal and drinking from the cup, gave thanks to the Lord. Therefore, thanksgiving is a basic ingredient in prayer. That should be a given.
Prayer and Thanksgiving Go Hand in Hand
Pastor Kim would encourage every person that whenever they pray, they include thanks. It is even beneficial psychologically speaking.
Colossians 4:2: “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;”
Notice that thanksgiving is included with prayer. Prayer and thanksgiving have to be done at the same time. There have been many psychological studies on gratitude as well as prayer, and those two things have been psychologically and scientifically beneficial for a person’s well-being. The Scripture was already ahead of this a long time ago.
Thanksgiving Brings Peace
Philippians 4:6-7: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Notice the word “everything.” Everything that is prayed for is to be with thanksgiving.
The passage says, “Be careful for nothing.” What does this do in return? It drops your worries.
Then the next verse says, “And the peace of God which passeth all understanding.” If we surrender everything to God in prayer, our worries should be subsided and we should attain peace. But sometimes we do not sense that.
The reason is because the passage says with thanksgiving. Think about it from a psychological perspective. When you are praying and all you are doing is pouring out your complaint, worry, and fear, what is your mind concentrating on? It is concentrating on the negative. You might think that by pouring out more negatives you gain peace, but that is not the case. When you pour out the negative to the Lord and trust Him to take care of it, faith is a factor. You trust in Him. But it does not end there. Then you start to thank Him.
For example, suppose you get into a car accident. You might pray: “God, my car is a wreck. I am in trouble. There is a lot of money lost. Lord, please take care of this issue and provide our needs.”
But then you have to thank Him. “Thank You, Lord, that none of us got hurt.”
Then you start concentrating on that: “Thank You, Lord. It is a miracle. It was a close call. They almost killed us, but they did not kill us. Only a great God can do that. Thank You so much, Heavenly Father.”
What happens then?
The negative part has been surrendered to the Lord. You trust Him and have faith because you have seen the positive part that you are thanking Him for: His miraculous work in protecting you from that car wreck.
If God protected you from that, why are you worried about the next thing?
That is why it is so important to combine prayer with thanksgiving. When you do that, you get more peace in return.
Faith is the main ingredient in prayer. What helps your faith increase is when you start putting thanksgiving into everything.
Watchfulness in Prayer
The power of thanksgiving is extremely powerful. If you recall Colossians 4:2, it says:
“Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;”
Why are prayer and thanksgiving accompanied by watching?
Because something else can enter your mind. Something can interfere with your mind. If you do not believe the devil can tempt you or attack you in the middle of prayer, you are gullible. You are capable of having a horrible thought in the middle of prayer and wondering, “Where did that come from?”
That is why being watchful is important in the middle of prayer. What does being watchful have to do with thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is your helper. It is the positive part entering your mind. But you have to protect it. Like a shield, you have to make sure that thanksgiving remains there. Nothing should steal the thanksgiving. That is why you have to watch.
If you do not watch, something can take away the thanksgiving. Then your prayer is going to change. Your mood is going to change. Your thinking pattern is going to change when you pray.
That is why, when you are thanking the Lord, you have to watch.
Philippians 4:6-7: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Paul knows this is a mind battle.
Then Colossians 4:2 tells you to watch. What are you watching for? Spiritual attacks. Do spiritual attacks have to do with mind games and mind warfare?
Yes.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5: “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”
There are strongholds, and they are connected with the mind. There is warfare. There is psychological warfare. You have to cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.
You have to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
You have to bind your thoughts from negative influence. The negative side is an unhealthy thing that you have to watch out for, and you have to shield the part that is thanking the Lord.
That is why Colossians 4:2 says to watch “in the same with thanksgiving.” Just because you thank the Lord, if you are not watching at the same time, that gloomy mood is going to get you very soon. You have to be watchful.
Thanksgiving and the Glory of God
All of this has to do with spiritual warfare so that you can watch out for what is going on in the mind.
When your prayer is filled with thanksgiving, is that not the proper prayer that God is pleased with? Is God more pleased with a prayer full of grief, bitterness, and complaint, or a prayer that keeps giving Him glory?
When you start out this way, the prayer comes out right to God. When the prayer comes out right to God, you are praying the way you should be praying, which is how Moses got God to answer prayer. Then you have the secret power to prayer that you always wanted but never did.
What is it?
You are concentrating on His glory. Because you are concentrating on His glory, prayers are now getting answered. But to produce that kind of prayer, it all starts from the heart and the mind.
If you start out the thanksgiving way, the prayer will come out that way. Then God will see it as being for His glory.
Make Your Requests With Thanksgiving
Philippians 4 is one of the passages concerning how we can get God to answer our prayer. You combine every request with thanksgiving.
Philippians 4:6: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
How do you get God to answer your prayers?
When you give your request and need to the Father, everything is to be done with thanksgiving. When it is done that way, it will turn into His glory.
Consider the car accident example again.
The request is: “Lord, will You please repair our vehicle and provide our needs? I want to thank You so much that You protected my life. You protected us from this damage in the car. Only a great God like You can do that. Covering these other bills is definitely not a problem with You because You are a great God. I want to thank You so much for protecting my life. Is a dollar bill too hard for You, Lord?”
When you pray that way, you are concentrating on His glory. “Is anything too hard for You, God?”
When you do that, you are focusing on His glory a lot more.
Sometimes we pray so hard trying to get God to answer our prayer, saying, “It is for Your glory, Lord. It is for Your glory,” but sometimes we are putting too much effort into it.
Why not let it come out naturally?
You concentrate prayer on His glory, and you do it with thanksgiving. When everything is done with thanksgiving, where you are watchful and guarding it, it will naturally come out.
The words that come out in prayer are not homework. It is not about trying too hard. It is more natural and genuine from the heart.
Shouldn’t prayer be like naturally breathing, as E. M. Bounds would say?
Thanksgiving and the Will of God
Pastor Kim wants to make clear that what follows is his opinion. Philippians 4 commands that every request should be made with thanksgiving. But is there a passage that says if you pray every request with thanksgiving, God is going to answer it?
Pastor Kim has given a spiritual reason: when you do things with thanksgiving, you are concentrating on His glory, and we know from the Bible that when you concentrate prayer on His glory, He will answer.
But there is also a passage that may show this clearly.
1 Timothy 4:4-5: “For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”
Pastor Kim believes this provides a spiritual picture. The creature cannot be refused if it is received with thanksgiving. The thanksgiving is connected with two important things: the Word of God and prayer. The request cannot be refused if it’s done with thanksgiving.
Knowing God’s Will
How do you get the Lord to answer your prayer?
George Muller is a great example. When he prayed for God to answer a request, he knew that God would answer it because he knew it was God’s will.
Pastor Kim is not telling you to act like a charismatic and simply start praying, “I know God is going to answer this.” Sometimes it is not His will. Sometimes His will is yes, no, or wait. But Muller was different. He knew it would be yes.
What was the difference between Mueller and the charismatic?
God has to answer yes if it is according to His will. The problem is that you and I do not know His will unless we really know His will, as George Muller did. Muller prayed so much with God that he knew what His will would be.
That is an incredible prayer life, but also an incredible Bible study life. God’s will cannot contradict His Word. Therefore, in order for your prayer request to be answered when you know it is God’s will, there are two factors.
First, you know it is God’s will because you have studied the Book so much that you know what the Bible says.
Second, you have a strong prayer life and relationship with God.
Take the car accident example again. Whatever way it turns out, Pastor Kim knows God has to answer according to Romans 8:28.
Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Whether God gives money or does not give money, it is still going to work according to Romans 8:28. So you can pray: “Lord, I pray that this car accident will work out for Your glory, in a way that will glorify You and work for good.” You know God has to answer that because it is based on the Bible.
Your prayer life also matters because you have seen God answer your prayers many times. You have a strong relationship with Him. Because of that, you know what God would say no to, what God would say wait to, and what God would say yes to. You would not know that unless you had prayed for a while. If you have prayed for a while, you can sometimes recognize God’s character.
You may pray: “God is going to say no, but Pastor Kim is going to pray about it anyway.” Or you may know that God is going to say yes, and then God does it. Or He may say wait. That comes with constant prayer with the Lord.
If you have a strong prayer life and a Bible-reading life, then when you give thanks to the Lord concerning that request, you can have confidence because you know God’s will.
Rejoicing, Prayer, and Thanksgiving
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
These are the three famous verses that people have made songs out of. We learn these verses in Sunday school but do not understand the basics.
Notice that verse 17, concerning continually praying, is surrounded by praise.
Verse 16 says, “Rejoice evermore.”
Verse 18 says, “In every thing give thanks.”
Prayer is surrounded and adorned by praise. What did Pastor Kim say about prayer? It comes down to thanks and praise.
Paul could have talked about many different things concerning thanksgiving. Why did he include prayer here with praise unless he knew these things were related to each other?
Praise is inseparable from glorifying the Lord. Thanking Him is inseparable from constant prayer.
But keep reading:
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
This is powerful. All of this concerning getting God to answer your prayer is based on His will.
If it is His will, and you thank Him for it, then you can pray with confidence. That is why thanksgiving is so important. When you thank Him, you are recognizing that the request is based on His will. Sadly, thanksgiving can be the least-used tool in prayer.
Why is it more often grief, complaint, or a request for a need, rather than thanksgiving? Thanksgiving is one of the most important things in your prayer life. It is ingrained. It is inseparable.
Philippians 4: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18:“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Philippians 4 also mentions the will of God through the peace of God:
“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4 and 1 Thessalonians 5 are inseparable in this teaching.
Pray So That You Can Give Thanks
1 Chronicles 16:35: “And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise.”
Notice that this is a prayer request. They are giving their request to the Lord: “Lord, deliver us.”
But why?
“That we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise.”
That is important. The person is praying: “Lord, please answer this request so that I can thank You for it later and glorify You for it later.”
Wouldn’t the Lord like that?
Pastor Kim remembers that, when he started studying this, it made more sense to him. He would joke with his wife that if the Lord blessed them with a new church building and a new place to live, he was going to glorify Him more than ever before and thank Him. Pastor Kim did that deliberately. He wanted the Lord to hear that.
And praise the Lord, the Lord gave him that, and Pastor Kim kept his word. He gave Him glory more than ever before. Then Pastor Kim realized that if God had done miracles before, why not continue praying that way?
Pray: “Lord, please answer this prayer so that I can glorify You, so that I can tell others how You mightily answered the prayer, so that I can believe that You are genuinely God above all gods.”
God loves being praised.
Give Thanks for Who God Is
Now look at Romans 1 and Psalm 136.
When Pastor Kim studied the Word of God concerning giving thanks to the Lord, he saw this throughout the Bible. If something is mentioned repeatedly concerning giving thanks to the Lord, we should pay attention.
Psalm 136:1-5: “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
First, we learned that you pray in order to thank Him later.
Second, you pray with thanksgiving.
God is immutable. He cannot contradict who He is. Notice what this thanksgiving prayer is concentrated on:
Who He is.
When you pray with thanks to Him, you have to concentrate on who He is. Consider the statement, “His mercy endureth for ever.”
You can pray: “Lord, I am really sorry for the sin that I committed against You. Please cleanse me with Your holy blood. I know that I am going to have to reap what I sow. But, Lord, You are merciful. You are gracious. You are greater than all of our sins. Based on that attribute of Yours, I want to thank You so much for Your mercy and grace, for who You are. Will You forgive me and give me a chance as well not to end up in prison because of who You are? You are a merciful and gracious God.”
What do you think the Lord will do?
What He loves is thanking Him for who He is. When you recognize who He is, your prayer life changes, and your heart and mentality toward the Lord changes. You have to pray with thanks for who He is.
Sometimes the reason you become afraid when you pray and do not think God is going to answer your prayer is because you have forgotten who He is.
You need to know that He is merciful, long-suffering, gracious, and plenteous in mercy. How many times has He gotten you out of a rut and taken care of you?
Why lose faith? You need to know who He is.
The Danger of Not Glorifying God
This is the dangerous part. Suppose you do not glorify the Lord. Suppose you do not thank Him.
Romans 1:20-21: “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
The psalmist in Psalm 136 described God’s creation and who He is, and the psalmist gave thanks.
Paul warns what happens when you do not do that. They knew God, but they did not glorify Him and were not thankful. Are you guilty of that when you pray?
Go back to Philippians 4 and 2 Corinthians 10. It is all tied together.
When you pray to the Lord but do not thank Him for who He is, you are not guarding the thanksgiving.
What is being attacked? The mind. Negative thoughts flood your mind.
Bob Jones, Sr., once said, “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.”
That is why you need to replace dark thinking with prayer.
Romans 1:21: “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
That is why 2 Corinthians 10 and Philippians 4 warned you about the mind and imagination.
The devil is going to get there. Think about yourself.
God created everything, so you should thank Him for who He is. But if you know God and do not glorify Him or thank Him, your imagination starts running. Your mind starts running on fleshly stuff. Then there is fear, worry, and guilt.
You gave up prayer, and now you are resorting to something else. The imagination becomes vain. Then you start thinking about fleshly things.
Romans 1:24: “Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:”
Then you sin. Then you sin a little more. That is what happens. That is why you have to watch. You have to glorify Him for who He is. Ifyou do not pray with thanksgiving, these things are going to enter your mind. These negative things are why you have to pray with thanksgiving.
Pray as Though God Will Answer
1 Timothy 4:4-5: “For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”
Here is something powerful.
Not only should you pray in order to thank Him, but you can pray as if He will answer and give thanks. That becomes powerful too.But this is only based on knowing God’s will.
If you know God’s will, then you can do something like George Muller did—praying with faith and believing that God would answer the request. If you do that, it becomes very powerful.
It is as if God has to do that, or God will do that, because you are glorifying Him and giving Him praise for it.
When You Do Not Know God’s Will
Now comes the question: what if we give a prayer to the Lord that is not based on His will? Can we give Him thanks for that?
This is where Jesus Christ gives us the example. Jesus is the best example on prayer.
Pastor Kim could be wrong about saying that Jesus did not give God thanks in this particular prayer, but this is an important example.
Jesus knew that what He was asking might not be God’s will.
Matthew 26:39: “And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”
Jesus was at a point where He could see that it might be God’s will or it might not be His will. But Jesus wanted to follow His will.
Mark 14:36: “And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.”
Notice two things.
First, Jesus Christ still concentrated on who God is. He said, “All things are possible unto thee.” He used that attribute to make His prayer.
Second, Jesus did not think it was a waste of time to pray. He prayed faithfully.
Matthew 26:44: “And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.”
Jesus prayed the same words three times.
If He knew that the prayer was for nothing and God was not going to answer it, why did He pray three times? This shows that Jesus knew prayer had power.
He knew that prayer could change the mind of the Father. Otherwise, He would not have repeated the same words three times if He did not think it was possible for the Father to let the cup pass from Him.
Jesus knew, but He prayed anyway. Jesus Christ prayed fervently because He knew there might be an alternative option that could align with the Father’s will.
That is why He said: “All things are possible unto thee.” Notice also that He said, “Abba, Father.” He got personal.
Be Personal With God
When you are giving a prayer request to the Lord and it cannot be done with thanksgiving because you have a fear, concern, or worry that it will not align with His will, it is important that you get personal with God.
You can pray:
“Heavenly Father, I worship You. I adore You. I glorify You. You are King of kings and Lord of lords. But I also know that it is okay that I can be personal with You. You are my Father, so I am going to tell You, Lord, this really hurts me. I am in grief. I am hurting, Lord, and it is hard to concentrate on Your glory right here. So I am being personal with You, Father. But I am going to concentrate on Your glory at the same time.”
The Father sees your heart and your grief.
Hebrews 4:15: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”
He wants you to pour out your personal emotion.
The Holy Spirit Helps Our Infirmities
Romans 8:26-27: “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Your personal grievances can align with God’s will, and the Holy Spirit can translate them for you.
Romans 8:15: “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”
Just as Jesus said, “Abba, Father,” it is okay to be personal with the Lord.
Even if your prayer request is incorrect, Romans 8:26-27 shows that the Holy Spirit helps with our infirmities and makes intercession according to the will of God. It is okay to be personal with Him. Encourage yourself with that.
Watchfulness Never Leaves
Mark 14:38: “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.”
Even in this case, where we do not see prayer with thanksgiving, Jesus realized that watching was still necessary. The watching never left.
Even if you are not praying with thanksgiving but are pouring out personal grief to the Lord, you never drop the watching.
Why?
Because the devil can easily get inside your personal grievance and turn it into bitterness or something dark. Therefore, you always have to be watchful.
Pray With Others
If you are not praying with thanksgiving because you are going through a personal grievance, you still can have a powerful prayer life by following Jesus’ example.
Make it personal.
Concentrate on who He is.
Pray fervently.
And get other people with you.
Jesus’ prayer should have been sufficient, but He saw fit to bring three other disciples with Him to pray.
Matthew 26:37-38:“And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.”
Jesus told them to watch with Him. Then He told them to pray with Him. Even though Jesus Christ was a better prayer warrior than all of them, He believed that He needed others to pray with Him.
If you are going through a personal grievance, you do not pray by yourself. You ask everybody you know: “Please pray for me and help me.”
There is more power in numbers.
Surrender to God’s Will
The last thing, which is very important and also a no-brainer, is that when we are not praying with thanksgiving, it may be because we are not sure what God’s will is.
In the end, you have to surrender to His will.
Why?
You do not want God to answer your prayer when it is not His will. Always surrender to His will.
If you are having a hard time surrendering, ask Him. Pray: “Lord, it is hard for me to understand. It is hard for me to surrender to Your will. Will You help me?”
In Romans 8, believe the promise that the Holy Spirit can take that personal grievance, confusion, and difficulty to surrender to His will, and bring it to the Father. There is a willingness in your heart, and He will help you. That is what you can do when you do not pray with thanksgiving.
Notice that Jesus Christ did not pray: “Thank You so much that I die on the cross of Calvary.” It was not that.
It was: “Lord, I don’t want this. I don’t want this.” But that did not make His prayer less effective than a person who prayed with thanksgiving.
Our Lord and Saviour has the best example of prayer to follow.
We can see in His case that even when He did not pray with thanksgiving, He still had a powerful prayer. You can do that.