Prayer Point for the Week – Let us pray that people would acknowledge and praise the name of the Lord everywhere this Thanksgiving!
Questions for Reflection:
Our text encourages us to joyfully praise God with gladness of heart. List some of the great events (Salvation, Healing, Baptism in the Spirit, etc.) that have happened in your life. How did they make you feel? How do those encounters with God still affect your life today? How does this enable you to maintain a joyful spirit?
Praising God during trial can be difficult. Think of a time God brought you through a hard time in your life. How did God prepare you before the trial began? In what ways did God minister to you during the crisis? How were others a blessing to you? How did God bring this situation to a close? How did you grow through this ordeal?
A disciple is someone who follows godly people who are serving Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:1). How does your life demonstrate a joyful disciple? Why is it important that other believers see our joy? Why is it important for non-believers to see a joyful spirit?
Part of the struggle we have with the old nature is complaining. Read Acts chapter 5. How did the disciples respond to arrest, threats and beatings? What was the source of their joy? What does this teach us about fulfilling our calling to rejoice?
Philippians 4 tells us that if we are to live in a spirit of praise, we need to “draw near” to God through prayer, disciplined thoughts and connectivity with other believers. Why is it easy to allow ourselves to become slaves to our old nature? What “basics” of Christian practice enable us to be people of faith?
