“I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.” (Psalm 86:12, ESV)

Giving thanks to the Lord is a theme that runs through the Bible. God is good to us so we should be grateful to Him. It is simple and understandable. “If someone is kind to you, you say, ‘Thank you.’” We teach this to our children at an early age and it is an expected response throughout our lives.

I do find it interesting that when it comes to celebrating Thanksgiving Day, many people do not understand thanksgiving. It is an action. A subject gives thanks to a direct object. Giving thanks requires a recipient. It is odd to me that so many act like Thanksgiving is an opportunity to reflect on how good they have made their life. It seems to be selfish and about them and their feelings. Many say I am “thankful for …”, but never say, “I give thanks to …”

The Biblical idea of Thanksgiving is that we reflect on the goodness of God and we thank Him for all of His blessings, His continued love, and His faithfulness. So in honor of Thanksgiving, today I want to give thanks to God, and I wish to make it habitual so that I will glorify His name forever.

My prayer of thanksgiving today is for you, my readers, fellow believers that are eager to serve our Lord Jesus. “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” (Philippians 1:3–5, ESV)