THANKSGIVING FOR OTHERS

THANKSGIVING FOR OTHERS

I Thess. 1:2-3 We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. As we talk to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and your continual anticipation of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. NLT

      What do we think about when we pray for one another?   I would be surprised if thanksgiving would be very high on the list.  We seldom thank the Lord for those who are His, especially if they are not “one of us”.  We seldom think of others enough to faithfully pray for them.  We are negligent about praying for those we know, let alone those whom we don’t know.  Praying with thanksgiving over the body of Christ should be a regular part of our prayer life, not a rare part of it. 

       I would be surprised if we give much, if any, thought to the work that the Lord is doing in and through others.  We ought to faithfully remember and be thankful for what the Lord is doing in our community churches and the churches around the world.  No church should ever feel like she is in competition with other churches for the salvation of souls.  It’s never a numbers game.  We put way too much value on the number of people in the pews.  Our concern should be about the salvation and discipleship of the soul of man.  We should rejoice with those who are doing it well.

       If you have a problem with not being grateful for what the Lord is doing in His universal church family, ask Him today to change your heart attitude.  Give thanks always for the faithfulness of God’s people, the good works they are doing for Him and the preparations they are making in the souls of man for Christ’s coming. 

      The Lord blesses those with thankful hearts.  And, when you are giving thanks for how the Lord is using other churches, you will not be finding fault with them and avoiding them like the bubonic plague.  Instead, you will find yourself actually loving and embracing them in their ministries.