A Heart of Thanksgiving
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations (Psalm 100:4-5, ESV).
Thank you God for my family, my friends, the wonderful education I have received, the home you have provided me with, my luxury of having food every single day, the path you have taken me on, and the plans you have declared for my life. Thank you, Lord, above all, that You have loved and chosen me. You died for me so that I could have everlasting life, an eternal relationship in communion with You; this is the greatest act of love I could ever have received. The abundance of things You have done for me is beyond even my own comprehension, so God, I come to you with my heart full of praise and thanksgiving. God, You are worthy of all my affection. Only You are holy and perfect; You became sin who knew no sin so that in You I might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). You made me clean so that I might know You, Jesus, and grow to become more like You. You have promised to never leave nor forsake me, and I will put my trust in this all the days of my life. You are worthy to be praised, and so I come before You with a heart full of thanks to the God of my salvation, the God of my redemption and strength. In Jesus’ name, amen.
This is my prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord. He has blessed me with so much throughout my entire life. My life itself is a gift from the Creator of the universe, and He desires me. How crazy is that? I have done nothing and can do nothing to earn His love, but He has given it to me freely. I am thankful for the God who I love and serve.
Back at the beginning of quarantine, I made a PDF that I printed and hung up in the kitchen at home. On this paper, was a photo of a cross that was drawn into white, silky sand on a beach and I wrote Psalm 100 on this photo. This is a psalm of praise, one to worship God. I felt it was incredibly crucial that no matter what was going on in the world, no matter what the news was saying, that my family and I continue to give praise to God. No one’s life has gone the way they thought it would this year. For some, it has been more difficult than it has for others. Some of you have experienced loss of jobs, loved ones, interrupted school years and graduations, uncertainty with how to go about normal activities like grocery shopping, eating out, seeing friends and family, serving others, and going to church. But take heart, dear friend. We serve a living God who is still on the throne. He has conquered death. God is a redeemer, and He can redeem any situation, including the pandemic we’re in right now. Our God is a good God. He does not leave His children behind. We must continue to praise him and thank Him. If we count up the blessings He has given us, we will find that God is abundant in His provision for us, even in the small things. The biggest blessing of all is that He has given us Himself. This is a gift so personal and deep, one we are also meant to share with the world so that others too can truly know of the great love of the God who made them.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations (Psalm 100:4-5, ESV).
What an amazing thing to know that we have a God whose love is forever and for all! This Thanksgiving, I encourage you to dwell on the goodness of God. Share praises of thankfulness to Him straight from the heart. You don’t need to come to Him with a grand, meticulously planned out prayer. He just desires us, and He sees the contents of what our heart have to say. Come to Him, ready to praise. I promise, you won’t regret it.
