Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
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Philippians 4:6
When you receive a gift, you thank the giver. Reciprocating by giving thanks is a loving and emotionally healthy thing to do. In today’s verse, thanksgiving comes alongside the requests, before the answer is given. Before you even open your mouth to make a request of the Lord, it is reasonable for you to give thanks. He is worthy. He has given humanity this beautiful world that He made as a home. He sent His Son to die for each person’s sin so those who believe may receive right-standing with God and the promise of eternal life. Regardless of whether or not He ever answered another prayer, He is worthy of thanksgiving because of who He is and what He has done.
However, His promise is to answer prayer. E. M. Bounds writes, “It is the answer to prayer which brings things to pass, changes the natural trend of things, and orders all things according to the will of God.” He adds, “Answered prayer is the proof of your real praying… The answer to prayer is the part of prayer which glorifies God.”
If it appears that your prayers are unanswered, continue to pray and study God’s Word, trusting Him to reveal to you what is happening. Perhaps you are asking amiss (James 4:3), or the answer may be on its way like it was with Daniel (Daniel 10:12-13). Are you persevering (Luke 18:1), believing (Matthew 21:22), and asking for God’s will to be done (Matthew 6:10)? Or you might consider fasting (Matthew 6:6-18). E. M. Bounds writes, “It is the answer to prayer which brings things to pass, changes the natural trend of things, and orders all things according to the will of God.” He adds, “Answered prayer is the proof of your real praying… The answer to prayer is the part of prayer which glorifies God.”
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