4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Our opening Scripture reveals the protocol of God’s presence. Whosoever will come into God’s presence must come with thanksgiving and with praises. You cannot come in grumbling or complaining, no matter the situation. A correct perception of God is expressed in thanksgiving even when the situation is unpalatable. Does it seem like there is no way out? Understand that you have come to the Way Maker, the God that parted the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21-22), the One by whose hand Elijah ran ahead of the best chariots in Israel at that time, the king’s chariots, and they could not catch up with him (1 Kings 18:46). The God that gave Philip divine transportation, being caught up by the Spirit and was found at Azotus (Acts 8:26, 39-40). You can’t box God; He is multidimensional and Almighty. Many would have given up hope when the three Hebrew boys were cast into the fiery furnace, after the king’s command that the furnace be heated up seven times more than it was generally heated and even those who took them in didn’t survive, yet God wasn’t moved in heaven. Why? He had a game plan. Little wonder the devil also thought He had won when Jesus died and was buried; having not read the script, he didn’t know it was all a part of the game plan. “Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians 2:8). God is never caught unawares; He is Omniscient, all-knowing. He has a plan, a strategy, working out things in your favour. God said in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Beloved, God has a plan, and your response of faith is to believe in God’s plan for you. Therefore, when you come before God, come with this assurance that He loves you, He is mindful of you and He has a plan for your life. Be rest assured that no matter how unpalatable a situation might be, if men can call upon God, following the pattern of prayer as laid out by our Lord Jesus Christ, heaven will respond. Jesus said “After this manner, therefore, pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” Though your destination in prayer is to birth the will of God on earth, you must begin by reverencing God and giving thanks to Him. Just the same way a man, though already has a scheduled appointment with a dignitary or a person in a position of authority higher than his, cannot just badge into his or her office, so also it is with God. There is a protocol of God’s presence – thanksgiving. Psalms 100:3 says “…it is He that made us, and not we ourselves…” When you recognize God as the Creator and Source, you’ll respond to Him accordingly in worship and surrender. Remember that thanksgiving is God’s will for us (1 Thessalonians 5:18). God’s will is His pleasure and nothing else gives God pleasure as His will; so when we give thanks, we please God. Beloved, develop a culture of thanksgiving; make it a lifestyle. Practice the art of thanksgiving daily, and you’ll enjoy the presence of God like never before.
My Solid Front (Confession): Heavenly Father, thank You for opening my eyes to the protocol of Your presence; therefore, I commit myself to a lifestyle of thanksgiving in Jesus’ Name!
Further Meditation: Psalms 100:1-5; Revelation 4:11.