Praising God For His Blessings
By Senior Pastor Dr. Bill Rains | August 2, 2026
Father, time would certainly fail to thank You for all of Your blessings. But Lord, look upon our hearts. If You see unthankfulness in us now, God, send great conviction. Bring us to the cross. Help us, Lord, to be appreciative and grateful and thankful… in Jesus’ name. Amen.
On August 2, 2026, Pastor Rains continues the series Need for Nehemiahs #12 Part 2 from Nehemiah 9:13-21. In the midst of a great revival prayer, he urges the church to praise God for His precepts for living, His daily provisions, and His gracious pardon of our provocations.
1. Praise God for His Precepts for Life
“Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments” (Nehemiah 9:13-14). God wrote the Ten Commandments with His own finger and gave them as right judgments, true laws, and good statutes. Pastor Rains reminds us that even with the commandments present, society is wicked—yet without them the world would be far darker. The commandments expose our sin, drive us to the cross, and show us how desperately we need a Savior. Though every one of us has broken them, we can still praise God that He has given us His holy standard for life.
2. Praise God for His Provisions in Life
God gave Israel bread from heaven, water from the rock, and sustained them forty years in the wilderness so that their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell. Pastor Rains testifies from personal experience that the Lord still daily loads His people with benefits. Everything we have—food, clothing, jobs, help in hard times—comes from His gracious hand. The proper response is gratitude that leads to repentance and the giving of our hearts to Him: “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?”
3. Praise God for His Pardon of Our Provocations
Though Israel dealt proudly, hardened their necks, and made a molten calf, God remained “a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness” and forsook them not. Pastor Rains shares his own testimony of deep personal brokenness and the ongoing trial with his son, declaring, “I’m a great sinner. He’s a great Savior.” The blood of Christ was shed for the remission of our sins. There is no reason for anyone to remain lost when such full pardon is freely offered.
How lost I was. How saved I am.
Come on—let’s get right with God and praise Him for every blessing.
Pastor Rains closed by inviting all who would be bold enough to say, “What a sinner I am, but how saved I can be,” to come and trust the Lord Jesus Christ. May every heart that heard this message respond with thankful, surrendered praise.
