“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.”

— Psalm 103:2

“Thank you.” Two simple words that let us know we’re appreciated for what we do and who we are.

When was the last time those words crossed your lips as you prayed to God?

I believe the Scriptures place a great deal more emphasis upon gratitude than we realize. In fact, the Scriptures consider thankfulness and its antithesis, thanklessness, as extremely important issues. Throughout the Bible, we’re called again and again to praise and thank God.

Most people have Christianity absolutely backward. They suppose that the motive of the Christian life is to perform good deeds in the hope of gaining eternal life. And if that were the case, we wouldn’t need to express thanks to God; we would have earned our own passage to Heaven with no one to thank but ourselves. But we can’t achieve eternal life on our own; we can gain salvation only through God’s grace by faith in Jesus Christ. And this truth engenders a heart of thankfulness and praise. God’s amazing grace inspires us to express our deepest gratitude to our Lord and Savior.

When we freely offer God our thanks and praise, our lives change. As we count our many blessings, one by one, we may become overwhelmed by what God has done in our lives. We may also learn to trust Him for future needs as we review God’s perfect track record of taking care of us.

I encourage you to keep a spiritual journal, where you record your prayer requests and the Lord’s answers. The ancient Israelites often ran into problems because they didn’t remember all God had done for them in their past, such as parting the Red Sea to save them from Pharaoh and the Egyptians. But if you keep a prayer journal, you won’t suffer from the same “amnesia.” As you regularly write down God’s answers to your prayers, you’ll remember His wonderful care for you, and you’ll automatically be filled with gratefulness and adoration toward God.

“A thankful heart is … the parent of all other virtues.”
Cicero