BENEFITS OF THANKSGIVING (2)

“And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had GIVEN THANKS He distributed them to the disciples” – John 6:11a

Unlocking God’s Supernatural Miracle Power is another of the crucial BENEFITS of THANKSGIVING: “And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had GIVEN THANKS He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down, and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost” (Jh. 6: 11-12). Two notable New Testament narratives exemplify this benefit. The first is the feeding of the five thousand men (not including women and children). The only supply was the lunch of a little boy – five small loaves and two fishes. But Jesus said, “Make the people sit down” (v.10).

The Lord decided to feed the multitude despite the apparently limited resources. His first move was Thanksgiving; the result – the Miracle of Multiplication! It is noteworthy that in this situation Jesus did not pray. He did not ask anything from the Father. All He did was thank God for what He had in His hand. The miracle was released not after some long prayer, but simply by Jesus giving thanks! This demonstrates the Power of Thanksgiving! Is it not likely that sometimes we miss out on the power of God simply because we do not release it by giving thanks?

The miracle of multiplication was a result of the supernatural breaking into the natural. Not only did God’s power produce enough food to feed five thousand people, not counting the women and children, but there were twelve baskets of left-over. This is figuratively illustrative of the twelve tribes of Israel. In essence, this story indicates that with Thanksgiving in place, there is always enough supply and left-over for all of God’s people. Moreover, when the Spirit of Thanksgiving is in operation, however overwhelming the situation is, there is no panic; faith and confidence in God are reinforced without dependence on personal ability or carnal safety nets; and supernatural solutions will emerge!

A second example of this principle is found in the eleventh chapter of John. As Jesus stood before the tomb of Lazarus who had been buried four days, He did not pray a long prayer. He said simply, ‘Father, I thank you that You have heard Me.’ That is all He said. Then He spoke to Lazarus – and out came Lazarus! Unless we cultivate the habit of thanking God in this manner, we may miss out on much of God’s supernatural power; as this is not necessarily released by long prayers. Most of the really powerful prayers in the Bible, in fact, are very short. For example, Moses’ prayer for Miriam when she was smitten with leprosy because of criticizing her brother, was simple, “Please heal her, O God, I pray!” (Num.12:13). If we combine thanksgiving with our prayers and petitions, our prayers may be shorter, yet more effective!