7 Bible Truths and Prayers to Turn Your Heart to Thankfulness

1. Give Thanks to the Lord (Psalm 106:1)

“Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever” (Psalm 106:1). 

As this Psalm tells us, we need to praise the Lord and give thanks to Him. We can do these things because He is good and His love endures forever. If we are going to start practicing a heart of thankfulness, we are going to have to give thanks to the Lord for everything in our life. He is good and everything good in our life comes from Him (James 1:17). 

When the psalmist says God’s love endures forever, he means that God’s love for us will never weaken nor will it change. The Lord’s love for us is steadfast and ever present. When we are struggling to find thankfulness, we need to reflect on this passage. It helps to remind us that Jesus is good and He loves us. Since we know this is true, there is no reason not to give thanks for the Lord. 

“Dear Jesus, I praise You for your goodness and love. I'm coming before You today to give You thanks. I'm sorry I haven't been the best at praising You or thanking You. All of this changes today as my heart will be focused on You. Thank You, Lord. Amen.”

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2. Give Thanks in All Circumstance (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). 

The Apostle Paul teaches us that we are to give thanks in all circumstances within the passage of 1 Thessalonians 5:18. The reason we are to give thanks in all circumstances is because this is God's will for us in Christ Jesus. Even when things feel overwhelming and stressful, we can give thanks to God. Everything might be falling apart in our lives, but we can still thank God for His gift of salvation, His love, and His blessings. 

There is always something to be thankful for if we are looking for it. The beautiful blue skies, the singing of the birds in the morning, or the fresh blooms of flowers are all things to be thankful for in our lives. Rather than feeding into a heart of despair, we need to give thanks in all circumstances. Not only will it bring us closer to God, but it will also cultivate thankfulness in our lives. 

“Dear God, I often struggle to give thanks in hard situations. Please help me to change this and to give You thanks in all circumstances. This is what You want me to do and I know it will help me to begin to be more thankful in my daily life. Thank You, Amen.”

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3. Give Thanks to the Father (Colossians 3:17)

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17). 

Colossians 3:17 shares with us the important truth that we need to give thanks to the Father through the Lord. Whatever we do, whether in words or actions, we need to do it in the name of Jesus and give thanks to the Father. This means we need to do everything in a manner worthy of Jesus Christ and to praise the Father through it. Every good thing that we do is only because of God working inside us. 

We wouldn't be able to do good things without God. He is the One who equips us with the strength to say no to sin and to follow after righteousness. Once we start giving thanks to the Father through Jesus, we will be able to focus our hearts on Jesus as well as we will start being motivated to do the right thing. Turning away from sin is hard, yet the Lord can help us (Hebrews 2:18). 

“Dear Father, please help me to give You thanks through Jesus Christ. Whether in word or deed, help me to do everything through the Name of Your Son. I give You all the praise and thanks, Amen.”

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4. Be Thankful for Salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9)

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). 

Even when we think we have nothing to be thankful for, we can be thankful for salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 reminds us of this truth as it tells us we have been saved by grace through faith. Salvation is a gift from God—it is not by anything that we have done. None of us can “earn” salvation because our good will never outweigh our bad. We are all fallen and we are in need of the Savior (Romans 3:23). 

Whenever we are short on thankfulness, we need to reflect on our salvation. Salvation was only possible because of Jesus’ death on the cross for us. The Lord went to extreme measures in order to save us from our sins. Instead of being indifferent to this truth, we need to give Him thanks. We don't have to wait until Thanksgiving to give Him thanks. We can give Him thanks today. 

“Dear Jesus, I thank You for dying for my sins and giving me eternal life through Your Name. You went to extreme measures to pay for my sins and I don’t deserve all You have done for me. I praise You and I give You thanks. In Your Name, I pray, Amen.”

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5. Be Watchful and Thankful (Colossians 4:2)

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful” (Colossians 4:2). 

A fifth Bible truth on thankfulness is to be watchful and thankful by going to God in prayer. The Apostle Paul tells us in Colossians 4:2 that we need to devote ourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. What this means is that prayer can help us to be both watchful and thankful. When we dedicate ourselves to prayer, we will be more careful to observe all the little things we can be thankful for.

If we don’t go to God in prayer, we won’t be paying attention to these little things. However, if we go to God in prayer each day, we will be able to be more thankful in our everyday lives. As a family exercise, we can try to start going to God in prayer each day as a family. Give thanks for the little things and be watchful for any other blessings. With time, it will help the entire family cultivate a heart of thankfulness.

“Dear Jesus, please help me to devote myself to prayer, to be watchful and to be thankful for all things. My family and I want to cultivate hearts of thankfulness and this cannot be done apart from You. I am thankful for You, Jesus and all of Your help. Amen.”

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6. Praise the Lord with Your Entire Soul (Psalm 103:1-4)

“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 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” (Psalm 103:1-4). 

Psalm 103:1-4 focuses on praising God with our entire soul. As David tells us, we need to praise the Lord and not to forget all of His blessings. The Lord is the One who forgives all of our sins, heals our diseases, redeems us from hell, and crowns us with love and compassion. When we look at all of these blessings, we can praise the Lord with our inmost being. He is good, amazing, and worthy of all praise.

We wouldn’t have any of these blessings without the Lord. As a family, we need to be faithful to the Lord and give Him praise. Rather than turning a deaf ear to all the blessings of the Lord, we need to be intentional in our thankfulness to the Lord. With time, thankfulness will become second nature to us. We will be able to praise the Lord with our entire heart because we are focused on Him, His wonderful blessings, and His love.

“Dear Jesus, I praise You with my inmost being. You forgive my sins, heal my diseases, redeem my life from hell, and crown me with love and compassion. I thank You. You are so good to me even though I often fall into sin. Help my family and I to continue to give Your Name praise. Amen.”

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7. Worship God with Reverence and Awe (Hebrews 12:28-29)

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,  for our ‘God is a consuming fire’” (Hebrews 12:28-29). 

The writer of Hebrews tells us that we need to be thankful and worship God with reverence and awe because we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. We are also told in this passage that we need to worship God because He is a consuming fire. God will never consume us in fire, but we need to praise Him for His might, righteousness, and grace. 

The kingdom we will receive in the future is the New Heaven and New Earth (Revelation 21:1-5). This kingdom will never be shaken as it will be eternal. Everyone who places faith in Jesus has this promise. As believers, we need to give Him praise and thanks for the New Heaven and New Earth. When the time comes for this kingdom to come, we will be welcomed with open arms. However, for those who refuse to place faith in Jesus, they will have to face the consuming fire of God.

“Dear God, thank You for giving me the kingdom that cannot be shaken. I cannot wait until this day comes as I will get to see Your wonderful creation and live in the home of righteousness. I also praise You that You have brought me from life to death. There are so many things to be thankful for and they all come back to You. I praise You, God. Amen.”

Related Resource: A Prayer for a Little Bit of Thanksgiving

Join us for this prayer for more thankfulness in your life, taken from Colossians 3:16-17. Be sure to subscribe to Everyday Prayers on Apple or Spotify to get every episode straight to your phone each day!

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