7-01-24 | Daily Devotions

Faith: Thanking God in Advance

July 1, 2024

By Maria Fontaine

Audio length: 11:10

In the last several years I have faced different dilemmas where I had no idea how they could possibly be solved. It seemed as if they didn’t have solutions. However, because my faith was solid in the truth of God’s Word and the knowledge that He never fails, and I was seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I knew that somehow there would always be a solution.

Jesus said: “I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it. However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you” (John 16:12–14).

The Holy Spirit was sent to us after Jesus’ death to help us understand the truth and to apply God’s Word to whatever situation we find ourselves in. I believe that is why, when we revisit the Scriptures, they often take on new meaning for us as the Holy Spirit shows us how to apply them in new ways or reveals more of their depth to us.

There are many examples in God’s Word of how to approach the challenges of life. One such example that I find applicable to many difficulties that I encounter is the story of King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles chapter 20, where he had no hope of any kind of human rescue from the various superior forces that were against him. In fact, there were three armies joining together to try to destroy him and his people. He said, “Lord, we know not what to do, but our eyes are on you” (2 Chronicles 20:12).

Jehoshaphat gave the Lord the glory and prayed and thanked God for His greatness and the wonder of His love. He reminded himself and the people who had gathered together of all the times when God had come through for His people in the past and that He would be there for them, too. He wanted everyone to recognize how their great God had come to their rescue time after time after time when there seemed to be no hope in sight.

We all have times when it looks like there is no solution to the situations we may find ourselves in. I believe that there will be many more times ahead when situations will appear impossible to overcome. And they may well be impossible without God’s intervention.

Whether He says, “Stand still and see the salvation of God,” or “Go up and fight and you will be victorious,” a great expression of our love for the Lord can be manifested as we trust Him and do whatever He shows us to do, even when we can’t see where our obedience will lead.

We can’t say, “Jesus, I’ll trust You and praise You for the victory as long as You do this or that for me, or don’t allow this or that to happen.” We need to place ourselves in His hands, knowing that He will always bring us through and cause whatever we face to work together for good in the end, which is something only He can do.

Here’s a helpful explanation of faith that I’ve seen several times online from different people: When you thank God after something happens, that’s called gratitude. When you thank God for something before it happens, that’s called faith. Faith is thanking God in advance before you see the answer.

If you can already see the answer, it doesn’t take faith to accept that it’s there. That’s why it’s important when you make a request in prayer to follow it with praise, right from the start, as well as whenever you think of the situation while you’re waiting for the answer to be manifested in a way that you can see or sense.

Faith thanks God. You could say something like, “Jesus, You know that request I made the other day? I thank You that the answer is mine. I don’t have to see it to know that You have answered. You have promised to answer, and that’s all I need. I thank You that the matter is already settled, and when it’s Your perfect time for the best solution to appear, it will.”

You don’t keep saying, “Please give it, please give it, please give it, please give it.” Instead, you say, “Jesus, here’s my heart cry that I know You have answered. Thank You!” That is faith, when you thank God in advance.

The Lord gave a message on this point:

Approach your challenges with prayer and praise. Let the light in and the darkness will flee. The light of My Spirit is there for you to receive. You can immerse yourself in it, and one way you can do this is with praise.

If you’re battling with worry, come to Me with an attitude of praise and thanksgiving. Keep looking to Me and trusting Me for the situation. Thank Me for how I’m helping you and reminding you to turn your gaze toward Me and My overcoming power.

Even when you don’t know how I have answered your prayer, and you are tempted to worry and try to figure out how I’m going to manifest it, go ahead and thank Me for doing it. Thank Me for giving you peace, even if you don’t feel peaceful yet.

(Maria:) Whatever you feed, either faith or fear, that’s what gains power in your life. Focus on thanksgiving and praise, and that will feed your faith! Faith is the victory! (See 1 John 5:4.) Manifest that faith through your words, your thoughts, the intents of your heart, and you will overcome the world. Fill your mind with words of thanksgiving and praise, and you will come through victorious in the end.

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Hebrews 11 states: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city” (Hebrews 11:13,16.)

In this life, those men and women of faith in Hebrews 11 often didn’t see all that was promised to them, but they knew the author of those promises! They knew that He wouldn’t fail! I’m sure many of the saints highlighted in Hebrews 11 saw miracles and deliverances and supernatural protection, as well as the many hardships and troubles described in this chapter. For them, faith became a way of life that permeated their thoughts and decisions. It was a conviction that grew throughout their lives so that whatever they faced in the moment was secondary to what they knew by faith was to come.

Faith is supernatural. It is not bound by time or space. Those of faith in the Old Testament believed without seeing Jesus’ redemption manifested during their lifetime. We have the blessing of knowing that Jesus has already redeemed us, but we, too, can’t see all that Jesus has promised us.

He wants us to trust Him in all circumstances. If the answer to your prayer comes immediately, then rejoice. When you don’t see the answer right away, keep thanking the Lord anyway, because you trust Him. You have His assurance that He will keep you and give you strength and all that you need in order to hang on until the answer arrives.

Faith that the Lord has answered, when we have asked something of Him, could in some ways be compared to a trust fund. Trust funds can take on many forms, but they are most often used to ensure that money or other assets are distributed in a way that will provide maximum benefit to the receiver over the long term.

A friend of mine was a recipient of a trust fund. Sometimes, the trust would limit what funds were given to him even though he requested more. But then, an unanticipated medical event occurred and he was desperately in need of the funds for his care and support. Because the trust had rationed the funds, the money was there when it was needed most.

Though the potential answers to our prayers are unlimited, God knows what will bring the greatest good from them. So God could be compared to the trustee of the heavenly trust fund of answers to our prayers. He provides the answers and knows when manifesting them will bring the greatest good into our lives. The answers are there, like the assets in the trust fund, but we, as recipients of His loving promises and answers to prayer, can’t always see the bigger picture of how to best use them.

I firmly believe that God alone knows how to work all things together for good in our lives and for His good purposes. That’s why it’s so important for us to have faith in His love for us. We need to trust in His wisdom. Otherwise, we often don’t have the understanding to make the best choices in the moment.

Whether the answers to your prayers are manifested immediately, or whether they take time to be manifested, they have been settled in heaven. When we thank Him for His faithfulness, we’re declaring our trust that the God of the universe who loves us and has already sacrificed so much to save and restore us and to be with us through everything is going to continue to be who He is to us: our friend, our Father, our protector, our Savior, our healer, the source of all truth and power, the provider of all that we need, our guide, and the answer to every problem and question we will ever encounter.

Originally published May 2022. Adapted and republished July 2024. Read by Lenore Welsh.