Enter His Gates With Thanksgiving: The Kingdom Protocol for His Presence
"The password to the gate that leads to the presence of the King is thanksgiving."
"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name" (Psalm 100:4).
Many believers read the Psalms without realizing who wrote most of them: a king, a warrior, a prophet and a worshipper. The Psalms are a manual for spiritual warfare, a manual for worship, and a manual for prayer that brings divine intervention. Once you read them that way, you see they are instructions for interacting with the kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God Has Protocols
In the temple there was a gate. You entered the gate, then the courts, and then came the Most Holy Place where the presence of the Lord was. Before you reach the presence, you have to pass through the gate.
A man may enter the temple physically and never enter God's presence spiritually. We can sit in church, even sing in church, and not access His presence. There are many people singing in church, but very few worshippers, because worship has protocols.
Even earthly kings have protocols. You have to be dressed a certain way. You bow. You don't turn your back on the king. Every deity in this world decides its own protocol, and every witchcraft has its prescribed rituals. When we come before the Most High God, we come His way. Don't try to be more holy than God. He decides how He is to be approached.
Thanksgiving: The Password to the Gate
Thanksgiving is not optional. It is the prescribed route to the presence of the Lord. Gratitude of heart opens the door for the King's presence.
What is gratitude? It is the intentional practice of recognizing God's goodness and responding with thankfulness regardless of the circumstances. "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
This thanksgiving is not based on feelings, because emotions can deceive you and truth will never deceive you. God is good, and that fact cannot change. When life is good, God is good. When life is bad, God is still good. You may not have money in your pocket, but the Lord is good. Your children may be rebellious, but the Lord is good. Life may not be how you expected it to be, but the Lord is good. We don't enter His presence because we are good. We enter because He is good.
Not being thankful is a serious crime of fallen humanity. "When they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened" (Romans 1:21). Unthankfulness is one of the marks of the last days (2 Timothy 3:1-2).
Jesus healed ten lepers, and only one came back to give thanks. Jesus asked, "Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?" (Luke 17:17). Healing can happen from a distance. Wholeness and a deeper encounter require coming back to the Lord with thanksgiving (Luke 17:19).
Praise: Through the Courts
You enter the gate with thanksgiving. You cross the courts with praise. And where does God live? Do you have His address? "But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel" (Psalm 22:3). God manifests His presence where people truly praise Him. "Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power" (Psalm 21:13).
Let me tell you about myself. I am a worshipper. I could sit in God's presence for hours, sometimes all night. But for years I struggled with praise. Where I come from, I felt spirituality meant being sober and quiet in God's presence. Praise is loud. Then God gave me a breakthrough during a 21-day fast. There was a shift, not just in the atmosphere but in the way I praise God. I would forget everything, focus on the King and magnify His name, and I was filled with divine joy.
Praise is vocal
"O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation" (Psalm 95:1). He puts a new song in our mouth (Psalm 40:3), and heaven itself sings a new song (Revelation 5:9). I pray your spirit will download songs from heaven. Whenever God has given me a new song, it has shifted the atmosphere, and sometimes revival came. When Israel shouted at Jericho, the walls came down (Joshua 6:20).
Praise is physical
"O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph" (Psalm 47:1). "Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs" (Psalm 150:4). King David "danced before the LORD with all his might" (2 Samuel 6:14). For me, dancing was always a carnal thing until God opened my eyes. You may be sad and still dance before the Lord. When you do that, you are reconfiguring your spiritual environment. Anyone who knows how to praise God will make his journey on earth enjoyable, not endurable.
Never too civilized, too dignified or too spiritual
Praise is a shift of focus. Focus on self kills praise. Focus on God releases praise. You can never be too mature for it, too sophisticated for it or too spiritual for it. If you can praise God in your prison, no prison can hold you (Acts 16:25-26).
Your praise will:
Revive your strength and clarify your vision.
Cleanse your soul and multiply your faith.
Bring confusion into the demonic world.
Break your prison and bring victory.
Dispel darkness and depression.
The voice of faith is praise. The shout of faith is praise. The language of faith is praise.
Worship: Into His Presence
Thanksgiving is the key that opens the gate. Praise carries you through the courts. Worship brings you into the intimate presence of the Lord. "O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker" (Psalm 95:6).
Praise is an utterance. Worship is an attitude. You thank Him for what He has done. You praise Him for His power and glory. But worship always means bowing down. It is the great exchange: you give yourself, and you take Him. I should know when the Lord has come into my room, because when He comes, my prayer changes. I stop asking for my needs. I bow down.
John saw "a door was opened in heaven" and heard a voice say, "Come up hither" (Revelation 4:1). The twenty-four elders cast their crowns before the throne, saying, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power" (Revelation 4:10-11). Whatever is on my head belongs at His feet. Every achievement, every reward and every honor belongs to God alone.
His presence is where pride breaks. It is where we are convicted, cleansed, commissioned and transformed. Some of us will start crying in His presence. That means the presence of the Lord is touching places words cannot reach. His presence is the place of rest.
Declarations
I will enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.
The Lord is good, no matter what I am going through.
I am not a complainer. I am one who praises the Lord.
I will never be too civilized, too dignified or too spiritual to praise Him.
Lord, put a new song in my mouth.
Every crown I carry belongs at Your feet.
The Mystery of Open and Closed Doors Series
This is Part 5 of a six-part teaching on the doors God opens, the battles at the threshold, and how to walk through. Here is the full series in order:
The Stealer of Joy: Why Closed Doors Are Part of Your Warfare (and How to Walk Through Them)
A Great Door and Many Adversaries: Why the Battle Intensifies at the Door
People Are Gates: How God Opens Doors Through the People He Sends
Open Heavens: Signs of a Closed Heaven and 8 Keys to See It Open
Enter His Gates With Thanksgiving: The Kingdom Protocol for His Presence (you are here)
Saved but Not Free: When the Gates of Darkness Hold a Believer Bound
Previous: Open Heavens | Next: Saved but Not Free
More Teaching Series
Marriage in the Lord series: Start with Part 1: Marry Only in the Lord
The Decision series: Start with Part 1: Why Decisions Matter
The Lordship series: Start with Part 1: Is Jesus Your Lord or Only Your Savior?
Stay Connected & Grow Deeper
Watch the full message: The Mystery Of Open And Closed Doors (Part 5) on YouTube.
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💬 Leave a comment below: What are you thanking God for today, even in the middle of your trial? Let's fill this page with thanksgiving.
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