Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication 

with thanksgiving

let you request be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7, NASB

We celebrate Thanksgiving every year in our family, just like most of you do. I have wonderful memories of this Holiday from when I was a kid. Mom would spend days getting ready for the big feast. The table was covered with food, but the four items I looked forward to the most were the turkey, the ham (yes, we had both), the stuffing, and the rolls! For dessert we had pie! For a family that usually had beans and cornbread four or five times a week, Thanksgiving for us was like Christmas  dinner was for the Cratchit family in Dickens' marvelous tale of Scrooge.

And, in our household, Thanksgiving was the official kickoff of the Christmas season! Dad would formalize the occasion by snapping on the Hi-Fi and we would dine to the soft tones of Christmas records while we ate. After dinner was the Dallas Cowboy game. The rest of the day was a series of snacks, groanings of "I ate too much!", and then a supper consisting of the four favorite food groups, the aforementioned turkey, ham, stuffing and rolls. As at all mealtimes in my parent's household, we gave thanks.

Now we all know what the day of Thanksgiving is like in our own households, but do we take time to really consider the act of thanksgiving? Do we realize that a thankful heart is a big part of the cure for worry? Don't believe it? Just re-read the verse above and it is as plain as day! When we are going through bad times, when our heart is heavy, or when we are weighed down by the cares of this world, we all have a tendency to pray. However, those prayers are often more akin to a kidnapper's list of demands than they are to the type of prayer that God has laid out for us. We often rush to God when we are worried, but it is usually more to say, "please give me this" and "please give me that" than it is to express our gratitude toward Him.

But a thankful heart is key to having God lift our anxiety! Why is that? I think part of the answer lies in this truth: When we have big problems, we often get tunnel vision. We see only the problem and the consequences that we are certain will come from it. We are like an animal whose leg is caught in a trap. Sometimes the pain is so severe and the need for escape is so compelling that an animal will actually chew off its own leg to get out of the trap.

So, like a terrified animal, we often approach God in a panic. We repeat the same prayer for help, over and over, but the prayer seems to be doing us no good. In fact, it may seem to make the problem worse, because we are repeating it mindlessly and often without a thought as to Who we are bringing our request. But...

when we approach our Heavenly Father with thanksgiving, it changes everything!

We are still bringing our anxieties to God, but now we are doing so with gratitude. How different prayer is when we begin by thanking Him for all of the good blessings He has given to us already. Add to that a thanksgiving for hearing our prayer in the first place. Thank Him also for the things that are going right. Thank Him for His protection as He really has watched over you all of your life. Thank Him for your hope of salvation, for His grace, and for the willing sacrifice of our beloved Savior. 

Then, after you have brought to mind all of His power and goodness and concern towards you, you can present your requests to God. And the confidence you will have will lead to faith. And the faithful prayer of the righteous man will accomplish much because God has so promised. The act of thanksgiving has the power of changing your fear to a type of grateful confidence if you will let it. 

And then, you will receive the peace that passes all understanding! Do you see what a thankful heart can do for you? More relevant, can you see what God will do when you have a heart that is grateful? Isn't God good! Aren't we thankful for that goodness!