Article of Faith: The highest form of prayer (2), By Femi Aribisala

“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Only the joyful and the thankful go to heaven.

When Jesus healed the crowd, He only healed their bodies. The healing did not require them to believe in Him. As a result, they were healed in the body but not healed in the soul.

In the wilderness, Jesus healed the Israelites bodily. In 40 years, nobody fell sick: 

“(He) brought His people safely out from Egypt, loaded with silver and gold; there were no sick and feeble folk among them.” (Psalm 105:37).

But He did not heal their souls. The psalmist says:

“He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.” (Psalm 106:15).

They all died in the wilderness without reaching the Promised Land. 

The same pattern was repeated in Jesus’ earthly ministry:

“Although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: ‘Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’” (John 12:37-38).

He healed their bodies, but since they did not believe in Him, their souls were not saved.

Spirit-filled Believers

The evidence that we have received the healing of the soul comes when we are lavish in thanksgiving. The Bible says when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we:

“(Give) thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:20).

No Thanksgiving, No Salvation

Paul warns that:

“In the last days, perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful.” (2 Timothy 3:1-2).

The gift of salvation is too enormous. It is ginormous. If you receive it and are not thankful, you will forfeit it. You cannot be saved and be sorrowful.

The Israelites were sent into captivity because they were not thankful. God said to them:

 “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you.” (Deuteronomy 28:47-48).

The same applies to us. The saved cannot continue to be sorrowful: 

“Surely (Jesus) has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.” (Isaiah 53:4).

If He has carried them, then we no longer have them. The real sorrow is the sorrow over our sins. That sorrow was removed when Jesus died for our sins. Thereafter, only the joyful and the thankful go to heaven.

The Grateful Samaritan

“It happened that as He made His way toward Jerusalem, He crossed over the border between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, ten men, all lepers, met Him. They kept their distance but raised their voices, calling out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Taking a good look at them, He said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” They went, and while still on their way, became clean. One of them, when he realised that he was healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. He kneeled at Jesus’ feet, so grateful. He couldn’t thank Him enough — and he was a Samaritan. Jesus said, “Were not ten healed? Where are the nine? Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?” Then He said to him, “Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you.” (Luke 17:11-19).

The Samaritan was healed twice because of his thanksgiving. The first time, he was healed in the body. He was cleansed of his leprosy. The second time, he was healed in the soul, because he came back to give thanks. 

If we are born again and spiritually healed but do not live a life of gratitude and thanksgiving, we will not be saved. The saved must not only give thanks, but they must also be “thanksliving.”

The other nine lepers were only healed of leprosy. The Samaritan was healed physically and spiritually. He was healed and saved.

Many are called, but few are chosen because many do not subsequently live lives of gratitude. Many are called, but they live their lives grumbling and complaining about everything.

Grumblers cannot be saved. Only the thankful are saved.

How can you tell if a man is saved? You know he is saved if he gives thanks in everything. You know he is saved if he rejoices forevermore. You know he is saved if he says continually: “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

Jesus says, “By their fruits, you shall know them.” We give thanks by the fruit of our lips:

“(We) continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” (Hebrews 13:15). 

Praise becomes a sacrifice when it is proclaimed even in adversity. As believers:

“We are bound to give thanks to God always.” (2 Thessalonians 2:13).

We must do this in all situations, whether good or bad.

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry was robbed; nevertheless, he thanked God. He wrote on the night he was robbed: “I thank Thee. 1st, because I was never robbed before; 2nd, because although they took my purse, they did not take my life; 3rd, although they took my all, it was not much; and 4th, because it was I who was robbed and not I who robbed.” 

Never Complain 

Love believes all things. Love believes that God will work all things together for good. That is why Paul says:

“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Have you ever thanked God for your wife? Then you can no longer complain about her. You cannot complain about something or someone for whom you have given thanks.

Complaining is deadly. When Israel complained, they were barred from entering the Promised Land. We must learn from their mistake. Therefore:

“(Don’t) complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.” (1 Corinthians 10:10).

Jesus’ Biggest Miracle

Before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He gave thanks to God: 

“Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.’” (John 11:41).

He then called Lazarus out of the grave.

This shows that out of thanksgiving, there is deliverance. Out of thanksgiving comes healing. Out of thanksgiving comes restoration. Out of thanksgiving, there is victory over death and affliction. We may lose the battle, but we always win the war:

“Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

“Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.” (2 Corinthians 2:14).

Resource Multiplication

Jeremiah says:

“Out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of those who make merry; I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.” (Jeremiah 30:19).

God multiplies our resources when we are lavish in thanking Him for what is inadequate. Your rent is ₦500,000. But all you have is ₦50,000. So, you go before the Lord and thank Him lavishly for the inadequate ₦50,000. You are on your way to getting ₦1 million.

Jesus wanted to feed 5,000 people, not counting the women and children. But all they had were five loaves of bread and two fish. Instead of grumbling and complaining about this, He held it up before the Lord and gave thanks.

“Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down.” (John 6:11).

The food was multiplied. Everybody had enough to eat, and there were even baskets of leftovers.

This is what happens when we are thankful for what we have. Without asking, God multiplies our resources.

Cursed Blessings

But when we are ungrateful and unthankful, God curses what we have. He even converts our blessings into curses:

“If you will not hear, and if you will not take it to heart, to give glory to My name,” says the Lord of hosts, “I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, because you do not take it to heart.” (Malachi 2:2). 

Thereby, many are called, but few are chosen.

faribisala@yahoo.com; www.femiaribisala.com