Our thanksgiving is not supposed to stop! We are to be continually offering praise unto God. Sometimes we can get bogged down in our lives or in the disappointments the world brings our way and we can let that affect our hearts. The enemy hates when we praise God, so one of the strategies he employs is to bring things into our lives to mute that praise.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; - Philippians 4:6
We are also supposed to pray and entreat God in thanksgiving. Why? Because sometimes we can get into the habit of turning prayer, which is supposed to be a time of relationship with God, into a request session for what we think we lack. By incorporating a thankful mindset into our prayers we can defeat this habit because by being thankful we are focusing on what we do have. That is the key to peace.
Going back to the key verse we see that God actually says we are called to peace. That calling is often times difficult in a very unmerciful world. If we do not walk in peace, we have a far easier time forgetting all that God has done in our lives. If we fall into that habit, then praise falls from our lips far less often. That is the scheme of the enemy. He knows you were called to peace and to praise God so he seeks to disrupt that calling. As humans we often like to focus on what we don't have. We tend to focus on how bad things are in our lives. Maybe we don't like our job and forget to be thankful for having a job (especially in this economy). Maybe we are upset at the end of a relationship without reflecting on what God taught us through it. But what about what we do have? Our lives, our protection, or our freedom? How about our blessed assurance of eternal life? Remember the promise of Jesus:
In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." John 14: 2-4
If we profess to believe what we believe then we need to hold onto this verse far more tightly than we do. Jesus has prepared a place for us and we need to remember the setbacks and tragedies of this life are but a drop in the ocean of eternity. Is this easy? Not without peace.
Finishing the key verse, God also says that we must have the peace of God rule in our hearts. We are not only called to peace, but we must let it rule our hearts. The condition of our heart is a crucial matter for the Lord:
Keep
your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. Proverbs
