Thanksgiving and Praise

 Psalm 100:4  Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

            We understand that prayers of thanksgiving express gratitude and acknowledgement of our deepest appreciation. We also have a clear understanding of praise as a means to express our favor to God and to glorify him. However as we often do, let us take a deeper look into this brief verse and find some additional golden nuggets of thought.

            Today, it is the location—the setting—that draws my attention. When we consider the traditional temple area we might remember that the gates were always closed to those who were unclean or undeserving, or in any other way could not satisfy the requirements. Gates were opened at certain times, but people were restricted in the use of gates and for the most part remained at the entrance unless otherwise specified. Two New Testament passages help our understanding.

Acts 3:1-2  One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.

Revelation 21:27  [with reference to the gates of the Holy City of new Jerusalem] Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

            Here we see something remarkable. Because we are God’s people through Jesus Christ, it is we who are to enter the gates! We are welcomed into the courtyards. But whose courts? These are his courts, not ours.

Isaiah 1:12 [as a portion of the Lord’s rebuke against the rebelliousness of Judah and Jerusalem] When you come to meet with me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings!

            How amazing that we have access through the gates into the courtyard of our Heavenly Father through prayer. Truly another reason for entering with thanksgiving and praise!

Gracious Heavenly Father,

            How amazing that we should be your people. How humbled we are to come before you in prayer. We offer our thanksgiving and praise to you, our loving and merciful God.

            In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, Amen.

 

The devotional Thanksgiving and Praise appeared first on Write From My Heart at writefrommyheartblog.blogspot.com

email: Dotty Willmon, writefrommyheartblog@gmail.com