Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt… you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask in prayer” Matthew 21:21-22. I’ve experienced the power of God, when in faith I prayed, and He moved a mountain in my life. He can move mountains in your life too.

For so long, I thought this verse was talking about a literal mountain, but God showed me it could be a mountain of regret, or a mountain of guilt, or a mountain of shame or a mountain financial struggle or a relational mountain, or whatever mountain. Bring your mountain, your everything, to God in prayer and petition with thanksgiving, believing that He will work.

I feel that Colossians 2:6-7, sums up what I am trying to say, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

I hear this saying that once we receive Christ, we begin living in Him, building our foundation on Him; we will be strengthened in our faith and overflow with thanksgiving.

As followers of Christ, because of the healing and redemption we have been given, our lives should spill over with thanksgiving! As we bring everything to God in prayers of faith, as He moves “mountains” in our lives, we should overflow with thanksgiving!

I think a good example of this, in the Bible, is King David. King David’s faith was built on a foundation that started at a young age. He had experienced the faithfulness of God throughout his life. His life was filled with trials, challenges, joys, sorrows, and mistakes but he continued to trust God. And in the Psalm, we hear him consistently offer prayers of thanksgiving, and we can learn from his example.

Psalm 7:17 “I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.” (NIV)

Psalm 28:7 “The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.” (NLT)

Psalm 75:1 “We thank you, O God! We give thanks because you are near.” (NIV)

Psalm 105:1 “Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.” (NLT)

Psalm 106:1 “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.” (NLT)

Psalm 118:21 “I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory!” (NLT)

As followers of Jesus, we are saved by grace and our hearts should be full of thanksgiving. Even on the most difficult days we can find reason to give thanks to God.

A good example of giving thanks in adversity from the Bible is Paul, who often wrote letters of encouragement with prayers and thanksgiving for the people he was writing to, while he was in prison.

Ephesians 1:15-16 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.”

Philippians 1:3-4 “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy.”

In Paul’s letters, we hear him being thankful for the testimony of other believers….

Thankful for the love God gives us to share with others….

Thankful for the hope we have in Jesus Christ….

Thankful for the gospel, being preached here and all over the world….

Thankful for the faithful ministers God has given us….

Thankful for circumstances.

May we learn from Paul and David.

May we practice Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus,” bringing everything to God and experiencing His peace with surpasses our understanding. Amen.