Evangelist Joshua Orekhie Ministries
EJOM DAILY DEVOTIONAL:
Sunday, November 15, 2026
TOPIC: REASONS YOU SHOULD THANK GOD NOW!
OPENING SCRIPTURES
Psalm 103:1–5 (KJV)
“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
Lamentations 3:22–23 (KJV)
“It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”
Luke 17:15–17 (KJV)
“And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?”
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (KJV)
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
MEMORY VERSE
Psalm 107:1 (KJV)
“O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
PRAISE AND WORSHIP
This Sunday morning, don’t ask God for anything yet. Just thank Him. Sing Count Your Blessings, and actually count them as you sing. Sing To God Be the Glory, Great Is Thy Faithfulness and Now Thank We All Our God. Let your first words to God today be “Thank You.”
Reasons You Should Thank God Now! – EJOM DAILY DEVOTIONAL: November 15, 2026
Beloved, the first reason to thank God is His mercy. Mercy is the reason you are still alive. It is the reason you are still standing today. Mercy is the reason you were not consumed by the problem or attack.
Jeremiah said, “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22–23). Every morning, God hands you a fresh portion of mercy and grace to begin a new day.
That mercy was not something you earned or deserved, and you did not work for it. You sinned, and mercy covered you. You failed, and mercy lifted you. You fell, and mercy picked you up. You made mistakes, and mercy did not let them expose you.
Some people made the same mistakes you made and ended in disgrace. Some walked the same road you walked and never came back. And it was not because you were better than them.
Jesus warned us about thinking that way: when people asked about those who died in a tragedy, He said, “Think ye that they were sinners above all… I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:2–3). The difference was not your goodness. It was His mercy.
So don’t look down on anyone. Look up to God. Open your mouth and thank Him for the mercy that woke you up this morning, the mercy that has kept you till now, and the mercy that is still speaking for you.
Beloved, think about it. God provides for you every day. You ate yesterday. You ate today. And by His grace, you will eat tomorrow.
You may not have everything you want, but you have what you need. You may not live in a mansion, but you have a roof over your head. You may not own a car, but you have legs to walk.
You may not have millions in the bank, but you have daily bread. Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). God is not a once-a-year provider. He provides every single day.
And every day, He protects you. There are dangers you saw and escaped. There are dangers you never saw, and God still kept you. Accidents almost happened. Arrows were fired in the night.
Traps were set on your road. People planned evil against you. But God shielded you, carried you over and turned things around.
He also gives you victory daily. Some of the battles you won this week, you never even knew you were fighting. Temptations you overcame without noticing. Victories over fear, over sickness, over sin and over the enemy.
Many people today are lying in hospitals crying for healing. Some are in prisons longing for freedom. Some are standing at gravesides mourning loved ones.
If God has given you provision, protection and victory, don’t take it lightly. And let your gratitude also make you compassionate towards those who are suffering. Pray for them, and help them where you can.
This is a deep reason to thank God. Most of us only thank God for good news: the promotion, the healing, the baby, the job. But have you ever thanked God for the bad news that never came?
The phone call that would have told you a loved one had died. The call that would have said your house had burnt down. The report that would have said you had a terrible disease. The message that would have said you had lost your job. That dangerous call did not come. God blocked it. God stopped it. God turned it away.
“There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling” (Psalm 91:10). Somewhere this morning, people are weeping because of bad news. But you woke up to life. Thank God for the bad news that never reached your door.
And if bad news did come your way this year, beloved, God has not abandoned you. He is still “a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). Thank Him that He is carrying you through it.
Beloved, there are dangers that were planned against you. Somebody planned an accident. Somebody planned a sickness. Somebody planned your shame, your disgrace, even your death. But God stepped in, delivered you and rescued you.
“Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped” (Psalm 124:7). The snare was set, but it broke. The trap was laid, but you escaped. The plan was made, but God scattered it.
You may never know all the dangers you escaped. The accident that didn’t happen. The poison that never reached your plate, or that reached it and did you no harm.
The way God brought you safely through last night. Many of these things you will only fully understand in eternity. But today, you are enjoying the victory. Thank Him.
Paul wrote, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Notice: in everything. Not only in good things.
Not only in big things. Not only when blessings are flowing. In good times and hard times. In plenty and in lack. In health and in sickness. In joy and in sorrow. In promotion and in demotion.
Now, let me be balanced. The Bible says in everything, not for everything. You don’t thank God for the sickness or for the sorrow. You thank Him in them, because even there He is still God, still good and still with you.
Thanksgiving should not be occasional or seasonal. It should not depend on your mood. It should be your daily lifestyle. Thank Him in the morning. Thank Him in the afternoon. Thank Him at night.
Thank Him before you eat and after you eat. Thank Him when you wake up and before you sleep. Every time you give thanks, you are telling God, “I remember what You have done. I have not forgotten. I am grateful.”
Beloved, thanksgiving is an act of humility. It says, “I did not do this by myself. I did not achieve this by my own power. I did not survive by my own wisdom. God did it.”
A proud man finds it hard to thank God, because he believes his success came from his own effort and his life is held up by his own strength. Nebuchadnezzar stood on his palace roof and said, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built… by the might of my power?” (Daniel 4:30), and in that same hour he was brought low.
But a humble person knows: without God, I would have died. Without God, I would have failed. Without God, I am nothing.
Thanksgiving is also truthfulness. It is telling the truth about who God is: that He is good, faithful and merciful. And a truthful heart keeps thanking God even when things are hard, because the truth about God does not change with our circumstances.
Sadly, many people see no reason to thank God. They say, “Why should I thank God when I don’t have money? Why should I thank Him when I have no job, no husband, no child? Why should I thank Him when I am sick and suffering?” And so they stop thanking Him altogether.
Beloved, I understand the pain behind those questions, and God understands it too. But that mindset is dangerous. Ingratitude darkens the heart.
Paul wrote of people who knew God but “glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened” (Romans 1:21).
Let me be balanced again. God is so good that He is “kind unto the unthankful and to the evil” (Luke 6:35). He sends rain on the just and the unjust. So His goodness is not something we buy with our thanks. But ingratitude hardens our hearts, makes us forget Him and closes us off from enjoying what He wants to do in our lives.
Jesus said, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much” (Luke 16:10). If we cannot appreciate the little life, the little bread and the little mercy we have today, how will we steward more? Ingratitude shuts doors, but thanksgiving keeps our hearts open to receive.
Beloved, thanksgiving is powerful. It is a weapon and a key. When you thank God, you are inviting His presence, and where His presence is, there is power.
When Jehoshaphat and Judah were surrounded by three armies, they did not start with swords. Jehoshaphat appointed singers to go before the army, saying, “Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.”And “when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments” against their enemies, and they were defeated (2 Chronicles 20:21–22).
Thanksgiving went ahead of them, and victory followed. When Paul and Silas sang praises in prison at midnight, the doors opened and the chains fell off (Acts 16:25–26).
Now, thanksgiving is not a magic formula, and it does not replace obedience, wisdom or hard work. But a thankful heart does not stay in despair. It lifts its eyes to God in appreciation.
David said, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:2).
Have you already forgotten what God did for you last night? Have you forgotten how He healed you from that sickness? Have you forgotten how He covered that shame and turned that disgrace into grace?
Beloved, we human beings forget very quickly. We forget what God did last week, last month and last year. We call some of His blessings “small” and move on.
We forget the doors He opened, the wrong people He kept away from us, the shame He covered, the tears He wiped away, the prayers He answered and the battles He fought for us.
And when we forget, we stop thanking. So sit down today and remember. Count His works in your life, and thank Him properly.
It is easy to thank God when you have money, good health and a happy home. But can you thank Him when the account is empty? When you are sick? When you have buried a loved one? When the business has failed or the marriage is struggling?
That is the kind of thanksgiving that moves heaven. Habakkuk said, “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:17–18).
No fruit. No meat. No herd. Yet he rejoiced.
Beloved, God’s faithfulness is not only for good seasons. In hard seasons, He is still with you, still carrying you, still providing and still protecting. Thank Him for that faithfulness. And if you are hurting, you don’t have to pretend. Bring your tears to Him, and let your thanksgiving rise even through them.
God does not always come down from heaven Himself. Very often, He sends people. Think about those God has used in your life this season. The man who gave you money when you had nothing. The woman who prayed for you when you were down.
The friend who stood with you when others left. The pastor who counselled you when you were confused. The stranger who helped you on the road. The mother who sacrificed for you and the father who laboured for you.
Those people were vessels of God’s mercy. Thank God for them, and thank them too. Don’t look down on what they gave you because it seemed small.
Paul wrote to the Philippians, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you” (Philippians 1:3). Let the people God used know that you remember.
Here is one of the greatest lessons on thanksgiving in the Bible. Ten lepers stood afar off and cried, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priests, “and it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed” (Luke 17:14).
Ten were healed. Ten received a miracle. But only one turned back, glorified God with a loud voice and fell at Jesus’ feet, giving Him thanks. And Jesus asked, “Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?” (Luke 17:17).
Then He said to the one who came back, “Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole” (Luke 17:19). All ten were cleansed, but the one who returned with thanksgiving heard something the others never heard. He received not only healing but wholeness.
Beloved, are you among the nine or among the one? Don’t be among those who receive and walk away. Return, appreciate God, and give Him the glory. When you come back to thank Him, He completes what He started in you.
Beloved, thanksgiving is not only for what God has already done. There is also a thanksgiving that goes ahead of the answer. Don’t wait until the blessing arrives before you open your mouth.
Thank God while you are still waiting. Thank Him before the healing shows up in your body. Thank Him before the job offer comes, before the marriage is settled, before the child is born and before the breakthrough appears.
Look at what Jesus did at the tomb of Lazarus. Lazarus had been dead four days. The stone had just been rolled away. Nothing had changed yet.
But the Bible says, “And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always” (John 11:41–42).
He gave thanks while Lazarus was still lying in the grave. Then He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth,” and the dead man walked out.
Jesus did the same when He fed the five thousand. He took five loaves and two small fishes, which was nowhere near enough, and “when he had given thanks, he distributed” them (John 6:11).
He thanked the Father for the little before it became much. And there were twelve baskets left over.
Paul teaches the same thing: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6). Notice that thanksgiving goes together with the request, not only after the answer.
So, beloved, thank God for the testimony that is coming. Thank Him for the blessing that is on its way. Thank Him for the miracle that is about to happen.
When you thank God in advance, you are saying, “Lord, I trust You. I believe You have heard me. I believe You are working, even when I cannot see it.” And God honours that kind of faith.
But thanking God in advance is not a way of forcing Him to do exactly what we want, when we want it. Jesus thanked the Father at Lazarus’ tomb because He knew the Father’s will in that situation.
Our thanksgiving rests on trust in who God is, not on getting our own way. Sometimes God answers exactly as we asked. Sometimes He answers in a different way, at a different time or with something better than we imagined.
Paul prayed three times for his thorn to be removed, and God answered, “My grace is sufficient for thee” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
So thank Him in advance with faith, and also with surrender. Say, “Lord, thank You that You have heard me, and thank You that whatever You do will be good.”
That is the kind of thanksgiving that keeps your heart at peace while you wait, and keeps you praising when the answer comes.
So, beloved, thank God now. Thank Him for the little, and watch Him show Himself faithful in much. Thank Him for life, for mercy, for provision and for protection.
Thank Him even for the closed doors, because some of them protected you, and trust Him to open the right ones. Thank Him in the delays, because His timing is perfect.
Thank Him in the presence of your enemies, because “thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies” (Psalm 23:5). Thank Him for your family, and commit them into His hands.
Thank Him for the battles He fought that you never saw. And above all, thank Him for salvation, because “he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
“O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever” (Psalm 107:1).
WISDOM FOR TODAY
A grateful heart is a magnet for blessings, but a complaining heart is a wall against them. Count your blessings before you count your problems.
PERSONAL CHALLENGE
Beloved, today I challenge you to write down at least twenty things you are grateful to God for. Include the big things and the small things: your life, your health, your family, your job, your food, your safety, answered prayers and dangers you escaped. Then read the list aloud and thank God for each one.
Next, spend at least fifteen minutes in prayer today without asking God for anything, only thanking Him. If you have received a breakthrough this year and never returned to give thanks, make plans to testify in church and bring a thanksgiving offering. Finally, thank at least two people today who have been a blessing to you.
EVANGELISM CHALLENGE
Many people around you have never thanked God because they don’t know Him. Reach out to one person today and share one thing God has done for you this year. Tell them that the same God who has been good to you loves them too. Share Psalm 107:1 with them and invite them to receive Jesus, the greatest gift for which anyone can give thanks.
FURTHER STUDY
📖 Deuteronomy 8:10–18; 1 Samuel 7:12; 1 Chronicles 16:8–36; 2 Chronicles 20:20–24; Job 1:20–22; Psalm 34:1–3; Psalm 50:14, 23; Psalm 91:7; Psalm 92:1–2; Psalm 100:1–5; Psalm 103:1–5; Psalm 107:1–2, 8; Psalm 115:17–18; Psalm 124:1–8; Psalm 150:6; Isaiah 38:19; Lamentations 3:22–24; Jonah 2:9–10; Habakkuk 3:17–19; Mark 5:18–20; Luke 17:11–19; John 6:9–13; John 11:41–44; Acts 16:25–26; Romans 1:21; 1 Corinthians 10:10; Ephesians 5:20; Philippians 4:6–7; Colossians 3:15–17; 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18; 2 Timothy 3:1–2; Hebrews 13:15
PRAYER POINTS
- My Father, thank You for the gift of life. Thank You for letting me see this day. I am grateful, in the name of Jesus.
- O Lord, thank You for Your mercies that are new every morning. Thank You for not consuming me, in the name of Jesus.
- My Father, thank You for daily provision, protection and victory. Thank You for the battles You fought for me that I did not see, in the name of Jesus.
- O Lord, thank You for the bad news that did not come to me. Thank You for blocking evil from my house, in the name of Jesus.
- My Father, thank You for saving me from danger designed to destroy me. The snare is broken, and I am escaped, in the name of Jesus.
- O Lord, forgive me for forgetting Your benefits. I will not forget Your healing, Your deliverance, Your mercy, in the name of Jesus.
- My Father, thank You for Your faithfulness in difficult seasons. Even when there was no fruit, You were faithful, in the name of Jesus.
- O Lord, thank You for the people You used to help me. Bless them, reward them, and keep them, in the name of Jesus.
- My Father, I will not be among the nine lepers. I return to thank You. Make me whole, in the name of Jesus.
- I declare, I will thank God daily. Thanksgiving is my habit. Thanksgiving is my lifestyle. And because I thank God, I will not remain helpless, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
PRAYER ASSIGNMENT – MORNING & NIGHT
1. Father, I thank You for the gift of life and for waking me up this morning, in Jesus’ name.
2. Lord, I thank You for the breath in my nostrils, in Jesus’ name.
3. Father, I thank You for a sound mind and for the ability to think, in Jesus’ name.
4. Lord, I thank You for my eyes to see, my ears to hear and my legs to walk, in Jesus’ name.
5. Father, I thank You because Your mercies are new every morning, in Jesus’ name.
6. Lord, I thank You because I am not consumed, in Jesus’ name.
7. Father, I thank You for Jesus, Your unspeakable gift, in Jesus’ name.
8. Lord, I thank You for delivering me from the power of darkness, in Jesus’ name.
9. Father, I thank You because my name is written in the Book of Life, in Jesus’ name.
10. Lord, I thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ name.
11. Father, I thank You for forgiving all my iniquities, in Jesus’ name.
12. Lord, I thank You for healing my diseases, in Jesus’ name.
13. Father, I thank You for redeeming my life from destruction, in Jesus’ name.
14. Lord, I thank You for crowning me with lovingkindness and tender mercies, in Jesus’ name.
15. Father, I thank You for satisfying my mouth with good things, in Jesus’ name.
16. Lord, I thank You for daily loading me with benefits, in Jesus’ name.
17. Father, I thank You for every accident You prevented in my life, in Jesus’ name.
18. Lord, I thank You for every evil plan You scattered before it reached me, in Jesus’ name.
19. Father, I thank You for every arrow that missed me, in Jesus’ name.
20. Lord, I thank You for the thousands who fell at my side while I remained standing, in Jesus’ name.
21. Father, I thank You because I escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler, in Jesus’ name.
22. Lord, I thank You for every journey I made and returned safely, in Jesus’ name.
23. Father, I thank You for my family and for keeping them alive, in Jesus’ name.
24. Lord, I thank You for my spouse and children, or for the ones You are bringing, in Jesus’ name.
25. Father, I thank You for food on my table and a roof over my head, in Jesus’ name.
26. Lord, I thank You for my job, my business and the work of my hands, in Jesus’ name.
27. Father, I thank You for every prayer You answered that I forgot, in Jesus’ name.
28. Lord, I thank You for every miracle I received and never returned to thank You for, in Jesus’ name.
29. Father, forgive me for being among the nine who did not return, in Jesus’ name.
30. Lord, forgive me for every murmuring and complaint against You, in Jesus’ name.
31. Father, deliver me from an ungrateful heart, in Jesus’ name.
32. Every spirit of murmuring in my life, be cast out, in Jesus’ name.
33. Every door I opened to the destroyer through complaining, be shut now, in Jesus’ name.
34. Father, as I return to give thanks, take me from cleansing to wholeness, in Jesus’ name.
35. Lord, restore everything the enemy destroyed before my deliverance, in Jesus’ name.
36. Father, I thank You in advance for the answers I am still waiting for, in Jesus’ name.
37. Lord, I thank You because You have heard me, and You hear me always, in Jesus’ name.
38. Father, as Jesus gave thanks and the loaves multiplied, let my little multiply, in Jesus’ name.
39. Lord, as I give thanks, let every dead situation in my life come forth, in Jesus’ name.
40. Father, as Jehoshaphat praised, set ambushments against my enemies, in Jesus’ name.
41. Lord, I thank You in the middle of my trial, because You are bigger than my trouble, in Jesus’ name.
42. Father, I exchange my spirit of heaviness for the garment of praise, in Jesus’ name.
43. Lord, inhabit my praises today, in Jesus’ name.
44. Father, give me grace to pay every vow I made to You, in Jesus’ name.
45. Lord, help me to honour You with my substance and firstfruits, in Jesus’ name.
46. Father, let my life be a sacrifice of thanksgiving that glorifies You, in Jesus’ name.
47. Lord, as Leah praised and birthed Judah, let my praise birth royalty in my life, in Jesus’ name.
48. Father, give me a testimony that will make others glorify You, in Jesus’ name.
49. Lord, let my mouth be filled with Your praise all the day long, in Jesus’ name.
50. Father, I thank You because my latter end shall be greater than my beginning, in Jesus’ name.
AFRICAN PROVERB
(The one who receives kindness and does not give thanks is like a thief who has carried away one’s goods.)
Meaning: This teaches that ingratitude is a form of theft. When someone receives a good thing and walks away without appreciation, they have taken something without honouring the giver. God has given us countless blessings. Don’t carry them away in silence. Return, give thanks and honour the One who gave them.
CLOSING REFLECTION
Beloved, if you sit down and count, you will run out of time before you run out of reasons to thank God. You are alive. You are forgiven. You have been kept, healed, fed and protected. Many dangers passed you by, and many plans of the enemy failed.
So don’t wait for the next miracle before you give thanks. Thank Him now. Thank Him in the good days and the hard days. Thank Him before you see the answer. Return like the one leper, and be made whole.
“O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
Stay blessed, stay thankful, and stay on fire!
Evangelist Joshua Orekhie Ministries (EJOM)
P.O. Box 167, Agege, Lagos State, Nigeria
If you have any dreams, please don't hesitate to share it with me on my Youtube. I will be happy to proffer solutions to your dream requests.Evangelist Joshua TV
