Celebrate His Goodness

I have experienced a number of victories over the years. At those periods of my life, I usually sit before the Lord to reflect on all he has been doing in my life and thank him. Most of the time, I will read, reflect and repeat David's prayer of thanksgiving which is recorded in 2 Samuel 7 and in 1 Chronicle 17. In this article, I want to bring your attention to the issue of thanksgiving and raise your commitment to making prayers similar to the one that David made before the Lord.

David prayed: 'Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And now, O God, in addition to everything else, you speak of giving your servant a lasting dynasty! You speak as though I were someone very great, O Lord God! What more can I say to you about the way you have honored me? You know what your servant is really like. For the sake of your servant, O Lord, and according to your will, you have done all these great things and have made them known. O Lord, there is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you! (1 Chronicles 17:16-20).

I have repeated this prayer multiple times over the years, paraphrased it, and thanked the Lord with all humility and every sense of gratitude. I sing to the Lord so loud, dance, and jump around in thanksgiving remembering all he has done for me over the years. It is usually a great moment of celebrating God's goodness. And it is a habit I really wish all Christians can develop and practice regularly. Learn to celebrate God's goodness privately and publicly. Celebrate with singing, dancing, psalms, poems, offering, and reflections.

Many Christians understand the effectiveness of prayer and have had hours of prayer for one thing or the other. If you go to many churches, you will observe the deep passion with which many pray for one thing or the other, especially for the things that have brought pain to them. The bible encourages us to pray and to pray passionately but such should not be limited to praying for things. God expects his children to equally dedicate time regularly to reflect on His goodness, identify His wonderful works, and express thanksgiving.

This is not a call to thank Him as some people do: 'So he will do greater things'. I believe that is not a good approach to thanksgiving. It is not about what you will get when you do it. It is not about God doing the next big thing. It is about what he has done. It is expressing your sincere thanksgiving to him and not subtly trying to make him do more. Yea, it can involve celebrating his promises just as David sometimes does, but not baiting God with thanksgiving and hiding your true intention to make him do more. I believe there are several benefits to thanking God and that it can result in blessings but that should not be the primary goal.

I am so inspired and challenged by the beautiful ways David writes about God's goodness. He takes his time to meditate and compose beautiful and inspired poems expressing God's Goodness and faithfulness. In Psalm 103 we have this beautiful call to Praise the Lord. 'Praise the Lord, my soul; all my innermost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits' who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.' (Psalm 103:1-6)