Thank You, Lord, Before I Ask for Anything

Before we ask God for anything this morning, we're going to thank Him. Maybe your mind went straight to your list of problems the moment you woke up. We'll start with who He is, and the list can wait a few minutes. Let's bring this to God together.

In Psalm one hundred, verses three to five, the psalmist calls everyone to come before the Lord with thanks. Listen for the reasons it gives.

Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good, and His loving devotion endures forever; His faithfulness continues to all generations.

Psalm 100:3-5

Psalm one hundred is short, and it's called a psalm of thanksgiving. It opens by calling the whole earth to worship the Lord with gladness. Then it pictures people coming to worship at God's house, most likely the temple in Jerusalem. They go in through the gates and on into the courts, and they sing as they come.

Look at what the psalm says before anyone reaches those gates. It asks them to know who God is. He made us, and we belong to Him, the way sheep belong to their shepherd. Then it gives the reason for all this thanks, and the reason is Him again. The Lord is good, and His loving devotion lasts forever. None of that depends on how your morning is going.

Many of us wake up already counting what's wrong. Maybe the alarm hadn't finished ringing, and you were already thinking about the email you've been avoiding. Maybe it's the bills on the kitchen table, or the pain in your hip that woke up before you did. It's right to bring those things to God, and we will. The psalm just asks us to look at Him first.

For the people singing this psalm, the way in was through those gates. For us, the way into God's presence is Jesus. The letter to the Hebrews says it plainly.

we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus

Hebrews 10:19

Jesus opened the way by giving His life for us, and He rose again. So thanks isn't a fee we pay at the gate. If you belong to Him, you've already been brought in. Thanks is how we answer Him once we're inside.

Paul wrote to a young church in Thessalonica. They'd welcomed the gospel in the middle of great suffering. Near the end of his letter, he told them this.

Rejoice at all times. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Paul asks for thanks in every circumstance. He isn't asking you to thank God for the thing that's breaking your heart. Some things are wrong, and grief is real. Maybe you're sitting with a diagnosis, or waking up to an empty side of the bed. You don't have to feel grateful before you come to Him. You can start with what's still true. He's good, and in Jesus you belong to Him.

So before we bring Him our list this morning, we'll thank Him. The list will still be there afterwards, and He'll hear every line of it.

Let's pray. You can pray these words with me, out loud or in your heart.

Father, before I ask You for anything this morning, I want to thank You. I can only come to You because of Jesus. He gave His life for me and rose from the dead, and through Him the way is open to me. By Your Spirit, help me mean what I say.

You're God, and I'm not. You made me, and You've kept me every day since. With the psalmist I can say, “we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.” You're good. Your loving devotion didn't run out in the night, and it won't run out today. Your faithfulness has held Your people from one generation to the next, and it holds me now.

The sun came up again, and You're the One who made it. Your word says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.” Thank You for breath in my lungs, and for sleep, even if it was broken. Thank You for the people who love me, even on the days I'm hard to love.

Most mornings I don't start here. I wake up and go straight to the list. What's due, what's broken, what might go wrong. Before my feet touch the floor I've counted every problem, and I haven't thanked You once. Even when I do say thank You, it's often in a rush, on my way to asking for the next thing. Sometimes I treat You like someone I only call in an emergency. I take Your gifts and forget where they came from. Forgive me. And thank You that You don't wait for me to get this right before You let me in.

Open my eyes today to what You're giving me. Let me notice the good things before I rush past them, like the first cup of coffee, or a message from a friend. When something goes wrong, teach me to thank You in the middle of it, while it still hurts. Let me be honest with You about it, and still remember that You're good and I'm Yours. Please grow thankfulness in me by Your Spirit. I can't force it. It's Your work.

Now I bring You the list. You already know what's on it. There's the money I'm worried about, and the decision I'm afraid to make. There's someone I love who isn't doing well. I don't have to earn Your help with better prayers or a brighter mood. So I put these things in Your hands. When I pick them up again later, help me hand them back. Whatever happens with this list, I'll say what Your people have sung for generations. “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His loving devotion endures forever.”

I pray for anyone who finds it hard to give thanks today. For someone grieving, and someone in pain. For the person who feels forgotten and wonders if anyone notices. Hold them close, and let them know Your love hasn't let go of them. Be with the delivery drivers and the bakers, and everyone else who was at work before sunrise. And for everyone praying these words with me, meet each of them right where they're sitting.

Go with me into this day. When I start reaching for my worries again, turn my first words back to thanks. If something good happens, help me see that it came from You. If something hard happens, keep me close to Jesus. And tonight, however today goes, let me end it the way I started, thanking You.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Take a moment of quiet now. Thank Him for one thing, and bring Him whatever's in front of you today.

Paul had just prayed that the Ephesians would know the love of Christ, and he closed with these words of praise. Hear them as you begin your day.

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21