We often attribute thanksgiving to the opening of prayers before supplications are made. This is logical, it makes sense to give thanks for what we have received before requesting for more. However, Thanksgiving is more than the opening part to prayer, it is an act of worship, a form of evangelism, a builder of faith and much more. In addition to this, Thanksgiving is a command in the word of God. 

Let’s take a closer look at Thanksgiving as the word of God admonishes:

Thanksgiving is an act of worship:
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name” Psalms 100:4 NIV
When we approach his presence with thanksgiving, we acknowledge that the Lord has been good to us, and our hearts are filled with joy for the things He has done for us. When our hearts reflect on God’s goodness, it takes away pride and any self-sufficiency and we are humbled when we realise, He is our God, our creator, our maker, and we are the created beings who can do nothing or have nothing without Him.

Thanksgiving is a command:

Know this: God is God, and God, God. He made us; we didn’t make him. We’re his people, his well-tended sheep. Enter with the password: “Thank you!” Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him. Psalm 100:3 MSG 

This translation of scripture is clear and very direct. Thanksgiving is not a suggestion – it is an instruction and criteria for entering Gods presence. Thanksgiving IS the password that gains us entry into His presence as His children and allows us to experience Him with ease; it permits us to indeed feel at home with Him. 

Thanksgiving is God’s will for you:
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV.
God does not want us complaining and grumbling, nor does he want us going through life in anxiety. God wants to fill our hearts with peace despite circumstances life presents us. Thanksgiving puts our heart in the right posture to receive God’s perfect peace. Philippians 4:6-7 NIV tells us:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” 

Complaining and grumbling is the easiest way to extend a time of trail and testing. This was the fate of the children of Israel who traversed the wilderness for 40 years instead of 40 days. Instead, Paul admonished us in Philippians 2:14 to ^“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation”. When we do everything without grumbling, we are more predisposed to thanksgiving. Instead, of seeing what is wrong and what is missing, we see what He has done for us and what we have because of Him.

Thanksgiving brings perfection and wholeness:
Remember the story of the lepers? It was Thanksgiving that made the one leper whole. “So where are the other nine?” Jesus asked. “Weren’t there ten who were healed? They all refused to return to give thanks and give glory to God except you, a foreigner from Samaria?” Then Jesus said to the healed man lying at his feet, “Arise and go. It was your faith that brought you salvation and made you whole” Luke 17:17-19 TPT. Nine were healed but only one was made whole. You may say what is the difference? Wholeness is beyond healing; it is final restoration to a perfected state. While 10 lepers were healed from their leprosy, it was the one leper that came back to thank Jesus that was made whole.

Thanksgiving evangelises:
When we testify of God’s goodness, we share the good news of his saving power.

“Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds”.
Psalms 105:1-2 NLT

“Then I will thank you in front of the great assembly. I will praise you before all the people”. Psalms 35:18 NLT

While we have explained WHYwe should give thanks, it is important to also look at HOW our heroes of faith have modelled thanksgiving to us. 

How do we give thanks?

Though Thanksgiving can be broad, it holds more meaning when we specifically express back to our Father God all the things, He has done for us and all He has brought us through. 

In Psalms 68:19, David cries out – “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation!” Selah

We are daily loaded with benefits; benefits we can recount individually. Let us take the time out to reflect and even journal all his many benefits to us.Psalms 103:2-13, 17-18 says: “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbour his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him”.

In this extensive account of God’s goodness, the psalmist recounts why he is praising God. These are the very reasons we should also give God thanks. When we do this, we honour God, He appreciates our gratitude and shows us his salvation. Psalm 50:23 opens our eyes to this: “Those who sacrifice thank offerings honour me, and to the blameless I will show my salvation”. 

On a final note, as instructed in Psalm118:29, “let us Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever”. 

And as the hymn goes – “Count your blessings name them one by one, count your blessings see what God has done….”

Chinagolum Osakwe & Olabimpe Sangowawa