THE MASTER IN PRAYER (5)

“And He took then bread, GAVE THANKS and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you...” – Luke 22:19a

The fourth key Point about the MASTER IN PRAYER is that JESUS PRAYED WITH GRATITUDE: “And He took bread, GAVE THANKS and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me” (Lk.22:19). This was Luke’s version of Jesus’ Last Supper with His apostles. Whenever Jesus broke bread, He always prayed with gratitude; always thanked God for the food. Coming from Jesus’ example, Christians through the centuries have prayed a prayer of thanksgiving over their meals. Gratitude is the Strength or Grade of Attitude. Gratitude is the best attitude! An attitude of Gratitude is the habit of expressing thankfulness and appreciation in all aspects of life, on a regular basis, and for both the big and small things alike. Gratitude leads to the abundant life!

When Jesus fed the five thousand in Galilee with the sack lunch, He gave thanks first: “And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, BLESSED and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish he divided among them all” (Mk.6:41). This prayer with gratitude and thanksgiving produced a Miracle of supernatural multiplication. Later, when the Lord fed the four thousand in Decapolis, again He gave thanks first: “…And He took the seven loaves and GAVE THANKS, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude” (Mk.8:6).

At the Last Supper, the final meal He shared with His disciples, Jesus gave thanks first: “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, BLESSED and broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take, eat, this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and when He had GIVEN THANKS He gave it to them, and they all drank from it” (vv.22-23). Every time we saw Jesus eating, we saw Him praying first, pausing to thank God for His provision. Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us day by day our daily bread” (Lk.11:3). He saw God as our Father we ask to provide, and the One we thank for that provision.

We can consider from the Master’s Model that every meal is a reminder of God’s Goodness in every area of our lives, and a catalyst to thanksgiving. Praying over meals should not be mere routine or rote prayers, but sincere praying with gratitude from a truly grateful heart. This is not simply saying grace over meals, but being truly grateful and expressing that in prayer.

Jesus not only prayed with gratitude over meals, but at other times as well. For example: “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I THANK YOU, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight” (Lk.10:21).

We often come to God with our hands out, asking for more, and that’s okay. It’s good to ask for what we need. Jesus taught us to do that. But it’s also good to be grateful for what we have. Jesus modelled that: “Therefore BY HIM let us continually offer the SACRIFICE of PRAISE to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, GIVING THANKS to His Name” (Heb.13:15).The apostle Paul wrote: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with THANKSGIVING, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phi.4: 6-7).

We can present our requests and tell God what we want, but with thanksgiving. Knowing that God is great and good, we should thank Him in everything and for every blessing: “In everything GIVE THANKS; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1The.5:18). We owe God gratitude for all that we have. Let’s stop majoring in what we don’t have.