“It is good to give thanks to the Lord” (Psalm 92:1).  When we do, our hearts turn towards God; we begin to recognize his tremendous gifts and the countless ways he is working in our lives and for our good.  In thanksgiving, we acknowledge the truth—that he is God, and we are not (Psalm 46:10), and that all that is good is given to us from above (James 1:17).  When we come to know this truth, we are free to experience his gifts of peace, hope, and joy (John 8:32; Colossians 3:15; Wisdom 16:29; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

The Scriptures command us to always be thankful (Colossians 3:15).  “For all things give thanks; this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).  “Whatever you say or do, let it be in the name of the Lord Jesus, in thanksgiving to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17).  Thank him in all your activities (Sirach 47:8), night and day (2 Timothy 1:3), “always and everywhere” (Ephesians 5:20).    

How can we be always thankful?  Of course, we should thank God when all is going well.  But our gratitude cannot depend on smooth external circumstances, which come and go day by day.  We can be always thankful because “Jesus Christ is the same today as he was yesterday and as he will be forever” (Hebrews 13:8).  The devil wants us to remain turned in on ourselves, focused on what seems to be lacking in our lives, but our God came so that we may have life in fullness (John 10:10).  When we turn our thoughts from earthly things to things above (Colossians 3:2) and raise our hearts to him in prayer (Lamentations 3:41), we will always have reason to say thank you.  

One beautiful way to thank God is by praying the Scriptures.  We can meditate on the daily Mass readings and thank the Lord for the gifts discussed there each day.  We can also thank the Lord for the gifts and promises revealed in particular verses that come to us during prayer or that we treasure in our hearts.  For example, from John 10, thank you Lord for being my good shepherd, for calling me and leading me, for laying down your life for me and protecting me from the evil one.  

Similarly, if there is a book of the Bible that we hold especially in our hearts, the gifts and promises throughout that book can inspire our thanksgiving.  For instance, from the Gospel of John, thank you Lord for the promise that darkness will never overcome the light (John 1), that you take my emptiness and fill it with what is best at just the right time (John 2), for revealing the truth to me (John 3) and satisfying my every thirst (John 4), for your healing in my life (John 5), etc.  The wisdom of God is “many-sided” (Ephesians 3:10), and so the Word of God is an endless source of reasons to give thanks—one day we may be touched by, and inspired to thank the Lord for, one aspect of a particular verse or chapter, and another day we may be touched by, and inspired to thank the Lord for, another.  Thanks be to God for the gift of his Word, which is full of reasons to give him thanks (Psalm 138:4)!  Below are just a few additional examples:

Goodness and Love of God

We can always thank the Lord for his goodness, faithful love, and constancy (1 Chronicles 16:34; see also Psalm 71:22; Psalm 86:12-15; Psalm 106:1).  As the Psalmist says, “bless the Lord, my soul, from the depths of my being, his holy name; bless the Lord, my soul, never forget all his acts of kindness.  He forgives all your offenses, cures all your diseases, he redeems your life from the abyss, crowns you with faithful love and tenderness; he contents you with good things all your life” (Psalm 103:1-5).  “You, Lord, have not withheld your tenderness from me; your faithful and steadfast love will always guard me” (Psalm 40:11).  

Let us thank the Lord, too, for always remembering us.  He says, “can a woman forget her baby at the breast, feel no pity for the child she has borne?  Even if these were to forget, I shall not forget you.  Look, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:15-16).  “Poor and needy as I am, the Lord has me in mind” (Psalm 40:17).

Prayer  

The Lord wants us to bring our whole hearts to him in prayer, with thanksgiving (Psalm 9:1; Psalm 138:1; Colossians 4:2).  “Never worry about anything; but tell God all your desires of every kind in prayer and petition shot through with gratitude” (Philippians 4:6).  We should thank the Lord for hearing us and knowing us (Psalm 118:21; Psalm 139); he knows what we need before we even ask him (Matthew 6:8)!  And when we receive the gift of true prayer, we should especially thank him for that amazing blessing.

Let us also remember to take time to thank the Lord for answering our prayers and not simply move from one request to the next.  In doing so, not only will we “thank the Lord as he deserves” (Tobit 13:10), but thanksgiving also will encourage us in our faith as we recognize how he is actively working in our lives.  When we have prayed together, it is also wonderful to give thanks together for the Lord’s response to those prayers—“for God’s favor shown to us as the result of the prayers of so many, thanks too may be given by many on our behalf” (2 Corinthians 1:11).  

Calling and Mission 

The Lord has a unique plan for each of us (Jeremiah 29:11) and gives us each a special grace to put at the service of others (1 Peter 4:10-11).  We should thank the Lord for calling us into his service despite our weaknesses and imperfections (1 Timothy 1:12-14) and for giving us a part in the work of his kingdom (2 Corinthians 2:14).  Let us also thank the Lord for the blessing of partnering with our brothers and sisters in Christ to carry out the mission entrusted to us.  As St. Paul says, “I thank my God whenever I think of you, and every time I pray for you all, I always pray with joy for your partnership in the gospel . . . you have a place in my heart, since you have all shared together in the grace that has been mine, both my chains and my work defending and establishing the gospel” (Philippians 1:3-7).  

Testing and Trials

Even in times of testing and trial, the Scriptures call us to thanksgiving.  In the book of Judith, she says, “let us rather give thanks to the Lord our God who, as he tested our ancestors, is now testing us” (Judith 8:25).  St. James further says we should consider it a great joy when trials come upon us because the testing of our faith produces perseverance, which leads us to become “fully developed, complete, not deficient in any way” (James 1:2-4).  May the Lord grant us the grace to thank him for forming and molding us during these times.

Likewise, we can thank the Lord for always being with us in our sufferings and for redeeming them.  As Jesus said, “I am with you always; yes, to the end of time” (Matthew 28:20).  Neither hardships nor distress can separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:35).  Moreover, in 2 Corinthians 1:3-6, we read a most beautiful promise that God is with us, encouraging and supporting us in every hardship so that we may, in turn, encourage and support others in their hardships for the sake of their salvation.  That the Lord turns even our sufferings for good is a great blessing (Romans 8:28).

Faith and Love of Others

Finally, throughout his letters, St. Paul often thanks God for the faith and love of his brothers and sisters in Christ (Romans 1:8; Ephesians 1:15-16; Colossians 1:3-5; Philemon 4-5).  For example, in his first letter to the Thessalonians, he says, “we always thank God for you all, mentioning you in our prayers continually. We remember before our God and Father how active is the faith, how unsparing the love, how persevering the hope which you have from our Lord Jesus Christ . . . Another reason why we continually thank God for you is that as soon as you heard the word that we brought you as God’s message, you welcomed it for what it really is, not the word of any human being, but God’s word, a power that is working among you believers” (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3, 2:13).  

To see our brothers and sisters grow in faith, love, and treasuring the Scriptures is at least a threefold source of thanksgiving—that the works of God are being revealed in them, for the blessings they receive from spiritual growth, and for the great encouragement and joy that we experience from their growth (1 Thessalonians 3:7-9).  Thanks be to God for his generosity and for the gift of multiplication in our lives (John 6:1-15).  “You see, everything is for your benefit, so that as grace spreads, so, to the glory of God, thanksgiving may also overflow among more and more people” (2 Corinthians 4:15).    

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May we pray for the grace to never tire of giving thanks to the Lord (Tobit 12:6), for he is good, and his steadfast love endures forever (Psalm 136)!