Gratitude or thanksgiving is essential to get in tune with God’s wavelength, to be in touch with His will for your life, to be on the same page with His agenda for you. And God’s agenda is invariably what is best for your life, because He knows you intimately. This last point also involves offering up your prayers to God freely, without reservation: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Phillipians 4:6) You see that part of the purpose of prayer is to relieve anxiety as we are encouraged to not worry about anything. We are taught to present everything to God in prayer, not just certain issues in our lives but the entire body of issues we are concerned about and need help with. And when we offer our prayers to God, we need to do it thankfully, already knowing those prayers have been answered (Mark 11:24). Knowing that our prayers have been answered buttresses our faith in God’s loving care for our lives. That is why thanksgiving is important. If you are thankful, it is showing God and yourself that your petitions have been answered. They may not appear in your life in the way you expect, but God does respond to you everytime.
Gratitude an Essential Ingredient for God
