Please and Thank You!

When our oldest daughter was just three years old, we worked hard to teach her good manners. As she was learning, it was mechanical and halting, but she would say, ‘May I have a drink, please?’  Or, ‘May I be excused, please?’ Her head would bob in sync with the words as she was trying so hard to say it just right. Of course, the reward was that she received what she asked for! That would be followed by a sincere ‘Thank you!’  

Do your prayers begin with please? Lord, can you…? Father, would you…?  God, please…!

Do you wait until you’ve received what you ask for before saying thank you?  

In Matthew 15:32-39, we have recorded for us a time when massive crowds were following Jesus into remote places to hear his teaching. After three days, Jesus said to his disciples, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, otherwise they might collapse on the way.” The disciples were befuddled! Where could they find enough food to provide for 4,000 men plus women and children!?! That would be impossible!  

Jesus simply asked, “How many loaves do you have?” (vs. 34)

What they had was seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. That might be enough to feed my family one meal (my teenage sons can eat!). But even we would probably still want something else to go with our bread and fish… like a bowl of ice cream to fill in the cracks! How in the world could seven loaves of bread and a few small fish feed four thousand men plus women and children? Impossible… humanly speaking.  

We would look at that small amount of food and most likely say, “Please Lord, would you multiply these loaves and fish to feed all these people?” 

Jesus reversed the order.  

In Mathew 15:36, when Jesus prayed over the loaves, the blessing he offered is called the bracha, or berakhah. This is a Jewish prayer, said before and after meals acknowledging first that everything we have is from God. Then, the request is made to provide sufficient sustenance.  

The bracha (blessing of food) begins with “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe...” This means Jesus said, ‘Thank you.’  Thank you for Who you Are. Thank you that you are Sovereign. And thank you for what you have provided. Then, after acknowledging his Father as the sovereign God and perfect Provider, he said, ‘Please.’  “Thank you, Father, for these seven loaves. And thanks for these few small fish. Everything we have comes from you. You are a good Provider. Please, would you make it sufficient to meet our need?”

Next time you go to God in prayer, begin with a thank you. Thank God for who he is and what He has already done in your life. The things (fish & bread) you have in your hands in the moment may seem completely insufficient to provide for the need, but don’t focus on your lack. Say thank you first.  

And then, ask the Lord to multiply His provision in order that you may love others, serve Him and bring God the glory in the sight of people who need to know who he is and learn to trust him for themselves.