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Redemption brought the believer into the life of wonders Isa. 8:18; Zch. 3:8. Thanking God is a vital spiritual weapon or tool to make the life of wonders become the reality in the believer’s life, it is not mere spiritual exercise 2Cor. 10:3-4; Exo. 4:1-4. But no weapon or tool will work and produce (maximally) unless one is trained and has the skill in the use of it 1Sam. 17:38-39,40. The same applies to spiritual weapons and tools. Many believers have known these weapons, but don’t have the result expected with them because of lack of the skill in the use, which is a function of understanding of the weapon.

What is Thanksgiving?

1. It is acknowledging God as the one behind the good things around us.

Every good thing that we see is not just the effort of man, it is received from God Jn. 3:27; Lk. 12:15-20; Jms. 1:17. Until a man receives it from heaven, he can’t experience it on the earth no matter the effort put into it. We must be intentional in acknowledging every good thing, as received from God; this is thanksgiving.

2. It is the celebration of the acts of God in our lives.

To celebrate means to mark or publicly display in honor of a thing, a person or a day. Anything that makes men to marvel in our lives is the act of God Psa. 118:23. When we are public in our display of the acts of God in honor of Him, this is thanksgiving Psa. 103:1-5. In essence, when God does a thing, and we are not public about it, we are not a thanksgiver.

3. It is ascribing all the glory to God for where we are.

To ascribe means to regard a thing as belonging to or due to. When it is glory, the only personality that can be the source is God. The best way to understand glory is to look at the opposite of it, which is shame. In essence, when it is not shame, it is glory; we must be intentional and quick at presenting it to God Jer. 13:15-17; 1Cor. 15:10.

4. It is recounting of God’s loving-kindness in our lives.

To recount means to mention repeatedly the manifestations of God’s love and kindness in one’s life Isa. 63:7; Psa. 105:1-5. Loving kindness means tenderness and consideration towards; in today’s literal word, it is to have ‘soft spot’ towards someone. Every time we enjoy a thing that is like ‘how did I qualify for this’, it is God’s loving kindness. We must not take it for granted; we must mention it to God and men repeatedly. For instance, what makes us qualified to wake up this morning? It is nothing, other than God’s loving-kindness.

5. It is appreciating God for the present situation to secure a change of story.

Someone said, there are only three (3) days in a man’s life; yesterday, today tomorrow; or past, present and future. The only one that man has control over is the present; the past is gone and can’t be changed, and the future is only that owns it. When we appreciate God for the present, no matter what it looks like, this is thanksgiving Jn. 6:6-11; 11:41-44.

The Wonders in Thanksgiving.

In essence, the amazing things that will happen when the believer engage in thanking God.

1. i) We inherently remind God of what remains.

When thanks go forth from the believer, indirectly he has reminded God of what has not happened Lk. 17:15-19. Anytime we remind God of what He is yet to do, we move Him to deliver it instantly Isa. 43:26.

1. ii) We command faster response from God than intercession and petition.

God’s response is the key to breakthrough and testimonies of man Hos. 2:21. And God’s response is invoked through thanksgiving and praise, and His response is faster than intercession and prayer Acts 16:25-26.

• iii) We are moved into the realm of praise.

As we acknowledge God for His act, which is thanksgiving; we spontaneously step into acknowledging Him for His person, which is the realm of praise. When thanksgiving graduates to praise, the stage is set for the supernatural Exo. 15:11; Psa. 67:5-7.

1. iv) We invoke judgment on our enemies.

Thanksgiving always graduates to praise, but when our praise becomes high praise, we invoke judgment on our enemies Psa. 149:6-9; 2Cor. 20:22-24.

The Dangers in Lack of Thanksgiving.

1. Glory is turned to shame.

Lack of thanksgiving will turn glory in the believer’s life to shame Mal. 2:1-3. When a believer sees the situation turning to negative in his life, he should check his thanksgiving; upgrade it to reverse the situation.

2. The way forward is stopped or blocked.

Lack of thanksgiving can stop the way forward, which will result in the believer being stranded or stagnated. When the believer’s level refuses to change despite all that he has done, he should check his thanksgiving, upgrade and watch the change.

In conclusion, we can make the remaining part of the year the best part in our lives, and this is God’s design for us Psa. 65:5-9; Ecc. 7:8. But we must accept the responsibility for this; it is simply by engaging the weapon of thanksgiving. It is your time for the experience of the reality of the abundant life, and you shall not miss it!

To anyone reading this that will love to give his/her life to Christ, pray this prayer out loud with me from your heart: “Lord Jesus, I surrender my life to you today. Forgive me my sins; wash me with your blood. I believe you died for me, on the third day you rose again that I may be justified. Right now, I believe that my sins are forgiven; I’m justified by your blood; I’m born-again; I’m saved; I’m a child of God; I’m free from the power of sin to serve the living God. Thank you Jesus for receiving me; thank you Jesus for restoring me; thank you Jesus for

Prayer.

Father in the name of Jesus, pour on my the oil of gladness and cloth me with the garment of praise, to make this end of the year the sweetest part this year Isa. 61:3.