Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! —
Psalm 107:8
In the Old Testament, we find an interesting story of how King Jehoshaphat took an uncommon approach when his enemies waged war against him. Instead of sending in his army first, he sent in the choir and musicians. Imagine the scene: “All right, soldiers, tomorrow at dawn we will mount an offensive attack against the Assyrian army and the strategy is that the choir and the musicians will lead the attack”. Most of his soldiers might have thought he was out of his mind.Psalm 107:8
But God had directed Jehoshaphat in this unusual battle tactic. We read that Jehoshaphat appointed people to sing to the Lord, praise the beauty of His holiness, and go out in front of the army saying, “Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever”. And that is exactly what they did. The Bible tells us that when they began to sing and praise, God sent an ambush against the enemy, and they were destroyed. They won a great victory not through ammunition, but through praise and thanksgiving.
In approaching God to ask for new blessings, we should never forget to thank Him for the blessings He has already given. If you would stop and think about how many of your prayers God have answered and how seldom you have come to Him just to give thanks, you will be ashamed of yourself. We should be just as deliberate in giving thanks to God as we are in asking for His help.
Prayer:
Thank you Lord for your goodness and mercy toward me and all my loved ones.Scriptural Reading:
Psalm 107:1-16
#YearOfWisdom
