Lifewords, Prayer Series, 4 of 30

lifewords  prayer series 4 of 30 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with Praise   Remember Jesus said in Matthew 6, "When you pray, go into your room, and close the door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And the Father who sees in secret will reward you openly." He is beckoning us to amp up our daily secret time with Him where He will meet with us teach us how to pray well. Much daily time in prayer is the necessity of the day and the key to God's purposes coming to pass.   Especially in regard to this daily, secret time of prayer, I love Psalm 100:4,5, in which David declares "I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart, I will enter His courts with praise..."  In other Words, when we come into God's presence, the first thing is  expressing thanksgiving and praise and worship. The Tabernacle of Moses was to be a place where God's people could come and meet with Him. It was a tabernacle made with hands where God's presence was, and it was a picture of God's ultimate plan to dwell in the hearts of His people. It was really a tent, and inside were particular areas and items that point to our life of worship. People entered through the "gates" and came into a courtyard area. They were to come into the gates with thankful hearts, declaring His faithfulness! As we come into our daily time of prayer, there is away to approach God and that is with Thanksgiving and Praise! Oh how much we have to thank Him for. He is worthy of all our praise. He is our Redeemer, our Shepherd, our Healer, our Provider, our Victory, our King, our All in All and so much more!   Oh that we would be a thankful, praising people, acknowledging the goodness of God! He is worthy of our praise. Praise must be expressed! Praise keeps our faith airborne. Praise keeps our focus on His faithfulness. God inhabits the praises of His people. Thanksgiving and praise should always precede and follow our petitions! Begin the day with a thankful heart, and continue as David expressed in Psalm 119 to express our praise seven times a day and allow His praise to continually be in our mouth. Use the Psalms to express your praise.  He is Worthy!