Gratitude
Bible verses about gratitude and thanksgiving
Gratitude runs through the whole Bible, from the psalms sung in the temple to the letters Paul wrote in chains. It is rarely tied to everything going well. More often it is a decision to notice God's goodness in the middle of real life.
These verses can open a prayer, start a family meal or close the day. They also fit the Thanksgiving season, when many families in the United States and in Brazil set aside a day to give thanks.
Give thanks in everything
Paul does not say "for everything" but "in everything". We are not asked to be thankful for loss or pain, but to keep giving thanks while we walk through them. Joy, prayer and gratitude appear together, as habits rather than moods.
16Always rejoice. 17Pray without ceasing. 18In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you.
Enter with thanksgiving
Psalm 100 invites worshippers to come through the temple gates with thanksgiving. Gratitude was the way in. The reason is the same in Psalm 107 and many others: the Lord is good, and his loving kindness endures forever.
This refrain appears again and again in the Psalms. It was meant to be repeated, the way we repeat the things we never want to forget.
4Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, and bless his name. 5For Yahweh is good. His loving kindness endures forever, his faithfulness to all generations.
Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
Remember his benefits
David speaks to his own soul and tells it not to forget. Gratitude is often a matter of memory: recalling what God has already done.
James adds that every good gift comes from above. The everyday gifts, a meal, a friend, a morning in good health, are included.
1Praise Yahweh, my soul! All that is within me, praise his holy name! 2Praise Yahweh, my soul, and don’t forget all his benefits,
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation nor turning shadow.
New every morning
These words were written among the ruins of Jerusalem, in a book of laments. In the middle of grief, the writer finds one thing still true: God's mercies are new every morning. That is why they are among the most quoted verses about hope and gratitude.
Psalm 118:24 is a good first sentence for any morning.
22It is because of Yahweh’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his mercies don’t fail. 23They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.
This is the day that Yahweh has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it!
Gratitude that shapes the day
In Colossians, thankfulness is not an extra. It runs through peace, through singing, through work and words. "Whatever you do" includes the ordinary hours of an ordinary day.
15And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord. 17Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
A simple gratitude practice
Gratitude grows with practice. A few ideas that take only minutes:
- Each night, write down three specific things you are thankful for that day.
- Begin your prayers with thanks before you ask for anything.
- Read Psalm 100 aloud before a family meal.
- Send one message this week thanking someone who helped you.
- On a hard day, look for one gift in it, however small.
Choose one verse from this guide and make it your first sentence tomorrow morning. Gratitude spoken early tends to stay for the whole day.
Scripture source
Scripture quotations on this page are from the World English Bible Classic.
World English Bible Classic (WEB), public domain. World English Bible is a trademark of eBible.org.