Ecclesiastes 9:10
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Shoel where you are going.”
Solomon is teaching us that now is the time to work with care, energy, and purpose to get the most and the best from life and to prepare for the hereafter. His basic reason for this precept is that the clock is ticking; time is running out.
We let our requests for what we think we need from God be made known to Him with ease. In other words, they are at the forefront of our minds, and it is very likely that before we actually get down on our knees—or however or wherever we pray—we have been thinking about what we are going to request of God for a long time. We have many reasons to give to God why we want or need what we are asking from Him.
Thanksgiving in prayer requires prior preparation too. It is not something most of us tend to work at with all of our might. This is because of the human proclivity to merely accept things—especially things that we might consider as blessings—as due us. In other words, in some cases we go to God with the thought that we deserve it. This attitude is there, and this is what makes so many of our prayers nothing more than “the gimmes.” Other vital elements that are needed to make an effective prayer before God are often overlooked, forgotten, and neglected, and sometimes never used, or maybe they are just brushed over in the rush to get to whatever we want to ask Him for. Nevertheless, true thanksgiving—an expression of sincere gratitude for what we have been given undeserved—needs to be a part of every prayer.
