Another thing we need to thank God for this Thanksgiving season is the Bible. God has kept it pure through the many ages so that people today can be saved and know how to please Him. It provides all the spiritual instruction believers need today.

Several times in the Bible God has promised to keep His word pure. The text verse declares that God’s Word is true ever since it was spoken and then later recorded in writing (inspiration). It has always been true and always will be. It is also true about what it says “in the beginning”: Genesis chapters 1 thru 11.

God repeatedly told His people in the Bible two things: 1). that His Word was pure, and 2). that it would endure forever. In Psalm 119:89 He said: “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.” It means that no editing, updating, or addendums would ever be needed.

No human could ever say these two things about anything they wrote. Other writings of the past have proven that keeping an author’s writing pure “for ever” is not possible. Their works have been changed hundreds of times by editors, careless copyists, people wanting to add their own words, etc.

The promise of God Himself being involved in the preservation process is seen in Psalm 12:6,7: “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.”

Because of its purity and God’s personal involvement in keeping it pure, He put a serious warning at the end of the Bible. Since Revelation was written about 1500 years after Moses writings, the warning would not make sense if it had not been kept pure and true.

Here is the warning given in Revelation 22:18,19 about tampering with the Bible in any way: “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

Thank God that we can have confidence in the Bible we have in our hands today – preferably the King James Version. It needs to be read, trusted, and acted on – and then you will understand its truthfulness and power.

During this Thanksgiving season Christians can be thankful because we have a God Who answers prayer. He has given many promises in the Bible that He will answer the prayers of His children. Knowing that He will answer is a great blessing.

It is one thing that many people do not understand. Notice the above words – “His children.” God’s children are born when they are given a new nature, which we call “born again” (from John 3:3). It is something that God must do when that person repents of sin and asks Jesus Christ to save them.

Getting answers to prayer is a special privilege that His children have. They are welcome to come to His Throne and present their petitions. Those who are not His children can ask, but they will not receive. Even His children need to be living right to get answers to prayer: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:” (Psalm 66:8).

When believers follow His Word carefully, they find that God answers many prayers. He is faithful to keep His Word. David said: “I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation” (Psalm 118:21).

Remember, Christian, it is not how many prayers you pray that counts, but how often He answers your specific prayers. If you are not getting answers to prayer, something is not right. Are you thanking Him for the ones He does answer?