Signal Hill Foundation Blog

The Sacrifice of Thanksgiving and Praise – A Powerful Tool For Answered Prayer

Giving thanks and Praise to God is not just something we are required to do out of obedience in worship to God. It is also a personal element that triggers powerful response. Giving thanks is very much tied to faith. In fact, I am coming to understand that faith has a hard time operating apart from faith in the arena where God works. So it is not just something we do as an act of worship. It is a powerful element for answered prayer. But what I want to focus on in this message is “the sacrifice” of praise and thanksgiving; when does thanks become a sacrifice, and is this aspect important?

The writer of Hebrews said:

“By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” (Heb 13:15, MKJV).

When does thanksgiving become a sacrifice? Listen up. This is powerful and important. Thanksgiving becomes sacrifice when you do it either before you see the end result (like faith), or when you are in a normally unthankful position.

Let me illustrate with the story of Paul and Silas in prison at Philippi.

Paul and Silas were on a missionary journey in Philippi. They were arrested for preaching the Gospel and thrown into the dungeon. They were beaten and whipped and placed in chains. The dungeon was not a humane place. It was dark and dank and often underneath the toilet of the palace. It would have been one of the worst places to reside. But obviously, they knew this secret of giving a sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise.

“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed” (Acts 16:25,26 MKJV).

We find his principle in his letter to the Philippian believers:

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6).

When you give thanks and praise when your way is dark, when everything seems hopeless, when you cannot see, when you do not feel like it – then it is a sacrifice of thanksgiving and can have powerful results.

The opposite is also true. The Israelites, after being delivered from Egyptian bondage murmured and complained and were definitely unthankful. As a result they reaped the wilderness for forty years and eventually death.

Paul speaks of those who do not practice the sacrifice of thanksgiving in Romans chapter one. He says of those who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshipped the creation instead of the Creator: “neither were they thankful.” The progression he gives is devastating; unthankful – prideful – futile thoughts – darkened hearts – fools – destructive actions – perversions – debased minds – and finally judgment and death.

Do you want a powerful tool for answered prayer? Try giving thanks as a sacrifice. It is so important and necessary that Paul says that it is the will of God for the believer in every situation:

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1Thessalonians 5:18, MKJV).

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name” (Psalm 100:4, MKJV).

By Jerry Smith, Signal Hill Foundation Director

Recently I discovered something I had been over-looking for years. There is a little known teaching that has been obscured because we have mentally and logically assigned it to the physical realm. What I discovered was that there is a Secret Place mentioned by Jesus in His teaching and also by the Psalmist David which can be applied to the spiritual-mental as well. Let me explain by sharing the Scriptures that led me to this discovery.

First, I was reading the statements of Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount – Matthew 6. There He gave a tri-fold illustration regarding doing a charitable deed (v.4), prayer (v.6) and fasting (v.18). In each of these He mentioned that “the Father who is in the secret place,” and “who sees in the secret place,” will “reward you openly.”

Then one day I was reading from Psalm 27:5-6 -

“For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.”

All of a sudden it occurred to me that the secret place was not a physical closet where we go to pray. There was something more and deeper.

Take this with the fact that Jesus said, “…the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke17:21), and you have a different view – an inward view – an internal concept, both spiritual and mental.

Jesus said so much about the “heart” of man as being the place where things happen. What we express comes from our heart. We must believe from our heart,etc.

So here is the point. The “secret place” is not a physical closet or church building. It is not physical at all! It is our heart, our subconscious heart, the place where God touches down, where we meet Him, the “mercy seat” of the “Ark of the Covenant.”

If you want to be “rewarded openly” then the key is to get into the “secret place.” When we do, the God who “sees” in the secret place and “is in” the secret place will reward you openly. A great truth don’t you think?

I will speak more about this in the next blog article as we look deeper at what it means for our lives personally and practically.

For now, you can download my pre-published book Logo Dynamics as an e-book which relates to a lot of this. Go to our website: www.signalhillfoundation.org/Store.html

By Jerry Smith, Signal Hill Foundation Director

Giving is a powerful element in each one of us. If we can overcome the natural, from-birth, tendency toward self-centeredness and selfishness we will tap into a great life principle.

The basic word for “give,” not counting any other similar forms, is found in 866 verses of the Bible with 937 specific mentions. God gives. He asks us to give. Most of His creation gives. It is a powerful, Biblical, and spiritual principle.

Here are a handful of truths regarding the powerful principle of giving.

1. Everyone can give.

It may be nothing more than a smile, but most people have some thing that they can give. The issue may be learning what you have to give and practicing the giving of it.

2. Giving is the key to receiving.

Jesus said:

“Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38).

3. Giving releases blessing in, at least, three different directions; toward others, toward God, and toward one’s self (at the same time!).

“Release” could be the operative word here. Many do not receive because they have not released. Notice that the very first word in the previous text is “Give” or “You give, and….” You must start the cycle. You must give by faith first, before you can expect a return. But it does not have to be much. It is a leverage principle.

Jesus said:

“And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you , he shall by no means lose his reward” (Matthew 10:42).

“For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward” (Mark 9:41).

4. Giving should be done “properly.”

The Bible talks about giving by “faith” and with a “cheerful heart,” “not grudgingly.”But there is improper giving. We can short circuit the powerful principle of giving if we fail in our attitude and method of input.

5. Giving garners the attention of God.

Jesus noticed the improper giving and attitude of giving by the religious leaders of His day and made mention of a poor widow who gave with a proper attitude. He not only noticed but said that her testimony would live on. He did not say that of the religious leaders.

For more concepts like this visit our website store at Signal Hill Foundation, www.signalhillfoundation.org, and see my new publication:

Logo Dynamics – Your Internal Dream Machine.   Click here

By Jerry Smith

Not only is WHAT you believe important, but HOW you believe and even WHY you believe.  Few seem to examine the basis of their belief. In centuries past men believed that the earth was flat! Sounds preposterous to us now but they operated from FEAR that if they sailed out toward the horizon that the ship would just drop off the edge!

Belief or faith is an important concept for all of us. Even the business world and Wall Street operate with a form of faith called risk taking. When you purchase a stock or start a business you have to have faith, and you take a risk. The key concept to understand has to do with the basis of your belief, faith, or risk. What are you basing your faith action upon?

People talk about taking a “blind leap of faith” as if this is some courageous thing to do. Mostly it is just a stupid thing to do. Jesus operated by faith but never ever took a “blind leap” and never taught us to.  There is the “basis,” or the “word” that we are to act upon.

Why you do what you do, respond the way you respond, or fail to do or respond is based on a “word” you have consciously or subconsciously allowed to be established in your life. You may not even realize you are responding to a word that you or someone planted in you years ago.

Another misconception is that it takes a lot of faith. “If I just had more faith,” some will say. But never does Jesus or the Bible say we are to have a huge amount of faith – quite the contrary – just a speck of faith will do! Jesus said that if we had faith as small as a grain of mustard seed we could move mountains. What then is the big thing – the huge amount?

You can find the answer in the chapter on Faith in my book, Logo Dynamics -Your Internal Dream Machine. You will also discover four other essential elements that will help you fulfill your dreams and make your life more successful. See our site at: www.signalhillfoundation.org