Thanksgiving and Praise by Kenneth Copeland
The Bible says if you pray according to God’s will, you
know He hears you and you have the petitions you desired of
Him (1 John 5:14-15). God’s Word is His will.
God is faithful. His Word can be relied on. Don’t wait until
you can see the manifestation before you believe you have it.
That will put you over into an area of waiting and hoping. If
you believe you receive when you pray, begin to praise God
for the answer.
Faith involves thanksgiving and praise. Philippians 4:6
says, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made
known unto God.” Thanksgiving and praise are integral parts
of prayer.
You and God are working together. It is your prayer and
His power.
Praise is more than just words. There is power in it. God did
not ordain praise just so we could brag on Him. Psalm 8:1-2
says, “O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the
earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the
mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength
because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy
and the avenger.” Jesus quoted this verse of scripture and
said, “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast
perfected praise” (Matthew 21:16). Strength and praise are
the same according to the Word of God. God ordained praise
to stop Satan in his tracks.
Once you have believed that you received because of the
Word, your faith is in action. Through praise, you are throwing
your faith up against that mountain of adversity in your
life. Jesus said if you have faith and doubt not, you can speak
to the mountain and it will be removed. You will have what
you say. If you quit applying the force of faith, the mountain
will not be removed. You want the mountain to keep moving
until it sinks into the sea and is completely out of sight! Apply
the force of faith by praising God that it is gone!
The only way Satan can stop you and your faith is through
unbelief. He does not have power to stop God. He cannot
stop that mountain from moving into the sea. The only way
he can succeed is to make you quit applying the pressure.
The mountain may be sickness, disease, alcohol, family
trouble, financial trouble or any evil work. Jesus bought and
paid for the answer to all of it. You cannot face any problem
that has not been taken care of through Calvary’s Cross.
The psalmist David said, “I will praise thee, O Lord, with
my whole heart; I will show forth all thy marvellous works. I
will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name,
O thou most High. When mine enemies are turned back, they
shall fall and perish at thy presence” (Psalm 9:1-3). He did not
say if. He said when the enemies fall back! As you praise God,
those enemies will retreat. The Bible says He inhabits the
praises of His people (Psalm 22:3).
Praise is not something you just feel once in a while. God
is worthy of your praise. The Bible says to offer the sacrifice
of praise. What did Israel do in the Old Testament when they
had problems they could not overcome? The priest would
offer sacrifices to God to bring Him on the scene and God
would stop the onslaught of the enemy. As a new covenant
believer, you are a priest of God. No other sacrifice can be
offered. Jesus offered the ultimate blood sacrifice. As a priest,
you offer the sacrifice of praise. Hebrews 13:15 says, “By him
therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually,
that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”
In Luke 17, Jesus ministered to 10 men who had leprosy.
They said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he
saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the
priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were
cleansed” (verses 13-14). Verse 15 says, “And one of them,
when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a
loud voice glorified [praised] God.” They were all cleansed.
But only one praised God unashamedly. Jesus said, “Were
not the ten cleansed? but where are the nine?” Then He said
to the man, “…Thy faith hath made thee whole” (verse 19).
The others were cleansed but he was made whole! His faith
kept working. His mountain did not stop at the seashore or
sink halfway into the sea! No trace of his mountain was left.
Whatever the disease had destroyed was restored.
That is the kind of power you can have right now in your
own life. If you are not familiar with praising God, or it makes
you feel uncomfortable, ask God to show you how. You can
start by reading the Psalms aloud. They speak of the great
and mighty works of God. They praise Him for His goodness,
power and mercy. God is faithful to perfect your praises!
