Before Jesus performed one of the most well-known miracles, raising Lazarus from the dead, He spoke a few words in prayer to His Father. "...And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me." (John 11:41)
He speaks as if the event or miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead has already occurred. Well, for God, our Omniscient Father, it had. Neal A. Maxwell said:
"The Lord Himself said that He `knoweth all things, for all things are present' before Him. (D&C 38:2.) We read, too, that `all things are present with me, for I know them all.' (Moses 1:6.) Therefore, God's omniscience is not solely a function of prolonged and discerning familiarity with us-but of the stunning reality that the past and present and future are part of an `eternal now' with God! (Joseph Smith, History of the Church 4:597.)" (Neal A. Maxwell, All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience, pp. 7,8.)
Christ gave gratitude for something that He believed would happen but that he had not yet witnessed in the flesh. Isn't that what faith is?
Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Have you ever been so confident in a promised blessing that you gave gratitude for it before receiving it? Think of how your confidence in God and the blessings He promises to grant us would increase.
Naturally, a question you might ask yourself is: What if he doesn't want me to receive it? Can I thank him for something he doesn't intend to give me?
Well, there are a few things to think about with this.
1. Is it a promised blessing connected to a covenant? Are you keeping that covenant as best you can? Are you repenting when you fail to live up to your side of the covenant? If so, you will receive the blessing. God promises us certain blessings when we abide by certain laws and God cannot lie. You can be sure He has this blessing coming for you in His own time.
2. Does it bring you closer to Christ and increase your desire to serve and worship him? If so, He wants that blessing for you or perhaps something better.
3. Are you asking for someone else to change? God cannot force someone to become more honest, holy or repentant. He respects the agency of others. But perhaps they will change. By asking God to change your perspective of that individual, and ultimately your treatment and behavior toward that person, they may feel God's love and choose to change. But most importantly, it is our own lives we must seek to change.
4. When you first asked for it, did you feel peace? Did you receive the inspiration for the request from the Spirit? How did you feel when you dreamed up or imagined this blessing being fulfilled? Were you focusing on worldly prosperity or on the Kingdom of God?
Can you picture in your mind's eye a blessing you have been praying for or seeking in your life? Perhaps it is for a more secure financial future. Perhaps it is to discover your life mission (or what is next in your mission). Maybe it is to find a spouse, experience physical healing, receive revelation on a decision, mend a relationship with a loved one.
Can you imagine how you will feel when you receive that blessing? Picture it in your mind right now. You are kneeling across the alter from your sweetheart and love of your life. You are free from pain and can jog around with your grandchildren. You finally feel at peace with a decision and have moved forward with faith. You are walking hand in hand with your spouse into the temple. You are so happy to see your loved one with whom you have struggled and picture yourself connecting with that person in a way you never have before. Maybe you have received a spiritual gift and the picture in your mind is of you using that gift to minister to others. Try to imagine this blessing as vividly as you can.
Whatever it is, picture this event or moment as if it has already occurred, feel the joy and gratitude as if you have already received it and give thanks to our generous God! This kind of faith shows God that you trust in Him to keep His promises and provide you with what you ask. After all, He tells us over and over in the scriptures that if we just believe and doubt not we will receive.
Mormon 9:21
Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.
You might say: How can I "doubt not"? That is so hard. Every time I picture the blessing I seek, I also picture reasons why it might not happen, why I'm not worthy, why it might not work, why God might not want that blessing for me after all." I have thought this many times and still do.
But believing and doubting are both choices. Do you choose to believe or do you choose to doubt? When those fear-filled thoughts enter my mind, I choose to cast them out and say, "I choose to believe!"
God cannot bless us if we fear and doubt. There are things He wishes to bestow upon us but by law he cannot if we don't believe. You may even wish to say, "Help thou mine unbelief, Lord."
In addition to being grateful for future blessings it is vital that we see the hand of God in our lives as they are right now. Below is a video that is a great reminder of this lesson.
Gratitude in the "now" is also key to experiencing miracles. Before Christ performed the miracle of feeding the 5,000 He gave thanks for the 5 barley loaves and 2 small fishes (John 6:11). He gave gratitude to the Father for what He already had. There was no doubt or fear in His mind that God would provide. Others might have questioned why he gave thanks for such a meager supply of food.
Gratitude increases our trust in God.
By searching for His hand in our lives and giving thanks, in hard times or easy times, we show God that we trust that He is still there. He will not leave us comfortless and He has an ordained purpose for suffering if that is what we are experiencing now. He would never allow us to suffer if there were not a beautiful lesson to be learned. We must choose to see His hand and show gratitude for the good, the bad and the ugly for within each high and low is His outstretched hand.
Here is another piece of my journey that has changed my perspective on trials forever:
At one point, early on in my journey, I can’t even remember exactly when this was, I was praying. It was one of my darkest days. I knelt on my bed with my arms and face buried in my pillow. I was sobbing and asking God why this was happening. I was pleading for help and strength when I felt the Spirit teach me. This was the message. “This is refining you in a way that nothing else could. You will be made stronger because of this.” It was hard to imagine at the time because I felt so broken but this truly has refined me. It reminds me of the quote from a man who crossed the plains with the Martin Handcart Company. Many criticized the saints for making the trip at such a terrible time. But he stood up and made this comment, “Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No. Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay, and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company.” I may not ever experience anything as difficult and refining as crossing the plains but I can relate to feeling blessed by something difficult. I have seen and felt so many blessings come to me because of this refining experience. God is good.
I am grateful for Truth: "Knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come" (D&C 93:24). I believe God is in it all.
We can experience miracles if we give thanks for future blessings we will receive as if we have already received them by imagining and visualizing with an eye of faith. We can experience the true emotion of joy and peace in advance. We can also express gratitude for the unseen miracles in our day-to-day lives. As President Eyring shared, we can pray for the Holy Ghost to make those things known to us, that our eyes may be opened. When we consistently see God's hands in our past, present and future we will be able to see Him.