One of the most played games as children is “hide and seek.” Seeking is a wonderful thing. God wants us to seek, he has asked/commanded us to seek and delights to bless us with the righteous desires of our hearts. At some point everything we ask for will be given unto us D&C 101:27, until then God requires us to live by faith, act in faith, and I’ve learned Thank in Faith. Here is what He means and how to do it.
A combination of two principles
Thanking in faith is a combination of the principles of Faith and Gratitude. We are all familiar with the passage, “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” James 1:6 We obtain blessings only AFTER the trail of our faith. Then there is gratitude, “in everything give thanks.” D&C 98:1 and “in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.” D&C 59:21 or “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” 1 Thessalonians 5:18
How do you thank in faith?
Quiet simply, to thank in faith, we pray to God with the eye of faith looking forward to having already obtained what we desire and thanking God for it. We are thanking God for already possessing the gift, trait, quality, characteristic, even material means we seek. In your minds eye, you must visualize yourself as already having received it. You must visualize and be able to see, smell, touch and describe the desired outcome. You must know, or firmly believe, that what you seek is a righteous desire and that God desires you to have it.
James, the early apostle, understood and applied this principle. He described the antithesis as such, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” James 4:3 Nephi also worked with the same principle, “Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss…” 2 Nephi 4:35
Thanking in Faith prevents drifting & fear
Napoleon Hill in his book, “Outwititng the Devil,” describes the empty prayer we often offer, while providing the remedy,
“When you pray, do not beg. Demand what you want and insist on getting exactly that.”
Thanking in Faith prevents fear when we don’t immediately obtain the blessing. It prevents drifting from knowing what to do or ask for. Give it a try the next week in your daily prayers and you’ll be amazed at the transformation of your mind and life through being focused in prayer by “thanking in faith” being shown in your life.
