This just in from our global online tribe of 900,000 followers: I hear other Christians say we should thank God IN ADVANCE. Isn’t that presumptuous on our part?
This is a GREAT question because it is about FAITH. And faith is important, right? Of course!
Faith is not hoping God will show up. Faith is not thinking God might be able to act. Faith is thanking God in advance believing he will answer.
Thanking God after he answers a prayer is being GRATEFUL. Giving God thanks in advance is being FAITHFUL.
This is much more than taking a positive stance in our faith walk. Thanking God in advance is preparing the soil for a fruitful harvest.
It’s a two-stroke process—from prayer to praise.
That’s exactly what JESUS did when he stood before Lazarus–who had been dead for four days–and prayed: “Father, I want to thank You that you have heard me.” Past tense.
Thanking God in advance is a matter of faith, not a vending-machine guarantee of a quick response. God’s answers will not always come in the way we want and on OUR ideal timetable, but we can trust his response to be what’s best for us.
Thanking God in advance is an important part of this waiting period. It reveals the condition of our spiritual foundation. It shows what our faith is made of in real time with real examples.
Anyone can quit. But it takes a mature believer to KEEP THANKING GOD IN ADVANCE while waiting for him to answer. Doing that strengthens our faith like a muscle being stretched and tested in the gym.
Thanking God in advance—over-and-over again—is also a vaccine against discouragement. If we keep praising God and thanking him in advance, it’s NEVER “over” or “too late.”
Some of you have prayed about something continually, but now it’s time to include praising God and thanking him in advance for his answers…on his clock.
I ask God to remind me to continually thank him in advance for what he will do in his way and on his timetable.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
How much thanking God in advance are you doing in your prayers?
“Because of our faith in him we dare to have boldness, courage, and confidence in coming to God with freedom and without fear.” Ephesians 3:12
