Thanking God is very important. Thanking Him when we ask for something in prayer is also very important. Many times we think that we should give thanks after we receive the answer to our petition. However, God says we should thank Him for the answer before we get it. Why is this important? Because it has to do with faith.
Philippians 4: 6-7 says: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." These verses illustrate that we are to ask in faith, not fear, and thank God for the answer of the prayer, as if we have already received our answer, at the time we present the prayer and petition before Him.
We are to walk in faith and confidence that God will answer our prayers. 1 John 5:14-15 says: "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him." According to verse 15, we have the answer to our prayers when we ask, not after we ask. The answer to our prayers may be made manifest immediately or in due season; however, the prayer made in faith is answered. Our role is to continue to exercise our faith and not grow weary waiting for the answer to be manifested - "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9).
While James 1:5 concerns asking God for wisdom, yet the same principle of faith applies when petitioning God with our prayers in verses 6-7: "But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind, that man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." Here again, we are to believe first, ask and then we receive the answer. At all times we are to remain in faith.
Finally, Mark 11:24 says: "Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Notice that the emphasis in this verse is that you believe that you have already received whatever you ask for in prayer before you actually get it.
As we have seen from the scriptures above, we are to both thank (Philippians 4:6) and believe (Mark 11:24) God for the results/answers to our prayers when we ask, not when we receive what we asked for. As believers we are called to stand in faith knowing that God will answer our prayers and move on our behalf when we ask Him to do so. This confidence is ours when we stand on the Word of God, proclaim it, and pray it for our lives and the lives of others.
Thanking and believing God for the answers to our prayers before we receive those answers is a powerful thing to do. Our faith literally calls to God, recalls His promises, and unleashes the God of heaven to transform our lives here on earth. As we know, God created the world by His Word in Genesis chapter 1. When God created the world, He spoke His Word to create each new day. In Gen 1:3 - "And God said, 'Let there be light..." Gen 1:6 - "And God said, 'Let there be an expanse between the waters". Gen 1:9 - "And God said, 'Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place". This continues in Gen 1:11, 14, 20, 24, 26. God's pattern of creation, back at the beginning of the world, as well as for today, is that He first speaks His Word and then the fulfillment of that Word follow.
As we believe God's Word, proclaim it in our lives, thanking Him that His Word will come to pass, we will see the same creative abilites that God used in Genesis chapter one take place in our lives and situations. Jesus said: "If you remain (abide) in me and my words remain (abide) in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you" (John 15:7). Jesus who in the beginning was intimately involved in the work of creating the world is still involved in creating in our lives, His church and the world today.
We can participate in God's divine nature (2 Peter 1:3) by believing God and thanking Him for answered prayer when we pray. This is an exercise of our faith that gives Him glory and allows Him to move in our lives to accomplish His purposes, expand His kingdom and bless us - His children. God designed it so that faith and giving thanks ushers in answered prayer and blessings from His throne.
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