Psalm 95:2a

       “Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving”. This is not just for when we stand before our Holy God and Father in Heaven, it is for approaching Him daily in prayer. It’s not easy going through a trial and praying with Thanksgiving, but it works for us to learn God’s perspective. We are not being told to thank God for the trial, but for what we can learn and how we can grow from it. We are told in Philippians 4:6 to “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God”, and Paul gives us the reason in verse 7, “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” God is not trying to discourage us by giving us trials, He is trying to grow us into holy children. We see this in Colossians 2:6-7, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” We grow in our walk in Christ and our faith grows as well through Thanksgiving. The word “abounding” is from the Greek word “perisseuo” which means to “be the better, enough to spare”. Thanksgiving helps us lift burdens that would weigh us down with anxiety. Are you coming to God with a list, or with thanksgiving and abounding in your walk?