We often think of gratitude during the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. Preparing for a feast with family and friends invites us to give thanks for all the good things God has provided. However, Scripture tells us to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NIV) and to always give “thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20, NIV). A posture of gratitude, then, is not reserved only for the autumn season or Thanksgiving holiday.
Throughout the year, we can express thanksgiving to the Lord and adopt an attitude of gratefulness. We can notice the small things each day that show us God’s grace and develop habits that help us remember to always give thanks.
Consider these six ways to cultivate a thankful heart throughout the year, not just during the holiday season.
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What we allow to fill our minds and hearts influences us. Not only does it affect the way we perceive the world, but it can also impact our actions. Hence, biblical meditation and memorization of verses are powerful ways to keep our focus on eternal matters. This is significant when fostering a heart of gratitude, as we can easily allow our thoughts to focus on complaints or anxieties. However, deliberately setting our minds on passages emphasizing thankfulness can challenge us to express our gratitude instead of grumbling.
Memorization and meditation often go together since we cannot regularly ponder God’s Word throughout the day without memorizing verses. We need to store up Scripture in our hearts (Psalm 119:11). Then, we will have a steady supply of passages to think about daily, which the Holy Spirit can bring to mind when we are tempted to feel ungrateful.
Although there are many verses we should store in our hearts, here are a few we can start with to encourage an attitude of thankfulness:
As we think deeply and regularly about these verses, allowing Scripture to transform us, we will see a difference in our perspective. Gratitude will increase and overflow into all areas of life.
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Most of us have heard about the benefits of keeping a gratitude list or journal. Many online articles promote these because they help our overall well-being and mental health. As Christians, though, keeping a list of what we are thankful for is a way to remember all God has done for us. The list or journal is a physical reminder that the Lord is worthy of our trust and praise. It is not about us but our Savior – the One who has given us life and every good thing.
Also, we need not view keeping a gratitude journal as a mere contemporary trend. Scripture demonstrates that the act of remembering is an important part of being a follower of God. Many Psalms, for instance, encouraged the Israelites to remember the Lord’s goodness, often listing His marvelous deeds from the past (see Psalms 107 and 118). As Psalm 105:5 says, “Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles and the judgments he pronounced” (NIV). Christians today should also remember all that the Lord has done, including His wonders in the Old and New Testament, from the parting of the Red Sea to the cross and empty tomb.
Writing about what we are grateful for is a helpful way to give thanks consistently. We stop to intentionally think about what the Lord has done and keep a record of all the ways He has been with us and helped us. The old hymn, Count Your Blessings, says, “Count your blessings, name them one by one; / Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.” During times of hardship, we can look back at our lists of counted blessings and worship God.
Keeping a gratitude list or journal allows us to reflect on what the Lord has done in our lives and prompts us to praise Him.
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Prayer acronyms exist to help believers remember key aspects of prayer. One of these is the ACTS formula, which directs us to give adoration to God, confess our sins to Him, offer thanksgiving, and intercede for others through supplication. Individuals often use this acronym to help them remember not to pray with a one-sided emphasis on themselves. Although we do not have to follow a specific method of prayer, including thanksgiving in our daily prayers is important.
If we are in the habit of talking to God quickly and only telling Him our problems, then regularly expressing gratitude will take time and intention. Using an acronym like ACTS could serve us on these occasions. Also, to start with, we could pray using Psalms or written prayers to help us get into the habit of giving thanks. Praying Psalm 100 regularly would encourage us to give more thought to thanksgiving. Likewise, a written prayer, like A General Thanksgiving from the Book of Common Prayer, could help us get in the habit of expressing gratitude to the Lord.
The focus, though, is not on trying to follow a specific formula or repeating words. Whether we use the ACTS method or written prayers, we should do so with the intention of building a habit of thanking God when we talk to Him. He is worthy of our gratitude and praise.
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Songs have a way of getting stuck in our heads. We can easily think of a tune we heard many years ago, even if we do not easily remember other information. Songs, thus, are important tools for learning and shaping our thoughts. If we want to cultivate gratitude year-round, we could try integrating music that emphasizes thankfulness into our days. The Bible tells us to:
“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” - Ephesians 5:19-20, BSB
Offering thanks to God through song is a way the Holy Spirit works in us and can encourage others. But we do not have to wait until Sunday to do so. We can raise our voices in song every day.
Paul specifically mentions Psalms, the original songbook of the church. Although we might have trouble imagining the Psalms set to music, they were originally written to be sung. Some artists today have continued this biblical tradition, singing a psalm with the accompaniment of modern instruments. We can use this music to sing along to Scripture or sing the Psalms ourselves.
The verses in Ephesians also mention hymns and spiritual songs. If the music is biblical and God-honoring, then we can listen to and sing along to praise the Lord. Many older hymns and modern Christian songs focus on thankfulness. A few to consider adding to a gratitude playlist are: “For the Beauty of the Earth,” “Old 100th,” “All Creatures of Our God and King,” “Thank You God For Saving Me,” and “Gratitude.” These are great for holidays and throughout the year.
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As we count our blessings, we might fall into the habit of noticing only the major things God does or has done in the past, like the answered prayer of a friend recovering after a sickness or a new job offer. These are things for which we should be grateful. But what about the small things? The lovely sky in the morning or the blessing of a nourishing meal. These little, everyday gifts are worth thanking God for, too. He is, after all, the Giver of every good thing (James 1:17).
Taking notice of the simple blessings in life requires us to slow down. In our fast-paced, technological age, we can quickly overlook or dismiss something as commonplace as birdsong or a child's smile. We miss these little things because we are too busy or watching a screen.
Pausing to notice takes effort and a willingness to see the little ways God blesses us. The more we practice, the more we understand that the Lord is present in every part of our lives. Such small reminders can compel us to offer thanks.
So, what does this look like in everyday life? We can keep note of the small things in a gratitude or prayer journal, or we could simply carve out a time to praise God for a simple blessing we notice each day. Maybe we read a beautiful poem or received a kind word from a friend. We can thank God for it. Whether in a journal or said aloud to the Lord in the evening, let us express gratefulness for the big and small blessings we experience.
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Scripture emphasizes that we should give thanks in every circumstance (1 Thessalonians 5:18). This means we should thank the Lord when we enjoy life and experience difficulty and sorrow.
"Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Paul did this in his life, praising God despite his hardships and challenges. His instruction to the Thessalonians to always give thanks was not a trite statement but something he practiced repeatedly. The underlying reason for this thankfulness was the salvation he received from Jesus. For Paul, knowing Jesus was better than anything else in life (Philippians 3:8), which should also be true for every believer.
Although expressing gratitude during sickness, loss, or relationship struggles can feel unnatural, we can still give thanks because we know Jesus. We have eternal life in His name and endless blessings. Even if we can think of nothing else to thank Him for, we can praise Him for saving us by His death and resurrection. The precious gift of salvation changes everything.
May we learn to develop a posture of thankfulness each day regardless of what our life looks like or if it is not what we want. Situations will come and go, but our identity as beloved children of God never changes. The more we remember all He has done and intentionally set His Word before us, the more we will practice gratitude daily. Our hearts will overflow with praise.
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