The final element of the shape of prayer I want to focus on in this series is thanksgiving. The Daily Office liturgies of the Book of Common Prayer end with the prayer of General Thanksgiving, and I want to use this prayer as a model and a picture of the kind of thankful people that these prayers are forming us into.
Here’s the main point I want to make here at the beginning: when you allow yourself to be formed by prayers of thanksgiving and gratitude, it will change your life.
To practice the discipline of thanksgiving, daily saying “thank you” to the Lord for all of the blessings you enjoy, is to be in proper alignment with reality. We are acknowledging the reality of our situation, that everything we have is a gift of grace, and the kindness of the Lord. And the only response to all the blessings of this life is to say, “thank you.”
When you say thank you, you are putting yourself in the position of receiver, and giving appropriate response to the giver. It is a subordinate position, a submission of heart and voice, to the one who is your benefactor. As I preached on this past Sunday, we get ourselves into trouble when we feel entitled to our lives and blessings, and forget that we are but stewards of the gifts we have received. Don’t be someone who ends up despising and rebelling against the Master because you were confused about your position.
The discipline and daily practice of thanksgiving is pushing back against the natural inclinations of our hearts to be God. What if, in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve were tempted with “You will be like God…” (Genesis 3:5) from the enemy’s lies, instead they had looked around at all that they had, remembered the joy and peace and fulfillment of the life they had with God, and remembered to give Him credit for it all? How that would have changed everything!
To be thankful is to know that everything good that you have is a gift from above, from the Father of lights (James 1:17). To be thankful is to rejoice in what you have been given, because you didn’t deserve or earn it on your own merits. To be thankful is to be content with what you have, because God is your good Father who cares for you.
A thankful heart is one that is ever growing. True appreciation and contentment grow in the good soil of this garden. Deep peace and a quiet mind will grow in this soil. To live a life of gratitude is to recognize your dependence, and the reliable and trustworthy grace of God to provide for you. To be formed in thanksgiving is to start looking to give glory to God in all things in your life, because it is all from Him, and it is for Him. To be formed in thanksgiving will also grow in you a discontent with sin, because the thought of sin becomes a spitting in the face of all the mercies we have received.
How would this heart posture change things for you?
I believe it could change everything.
May we continue to grow in such an awareness of God’s mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth His praise and live for Him. May thanksgiving become the foundation of a new work of faith in our lives, that is lived out in our days. May our hearts be more deeply formed in this through our prayers.
To close, would you pray this prayer of General Thanksgiving out loud, and offer it unto the Lord with me?
Almighty God, Father of all mercies,
we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks
for all your goodness and loving-kindness
to us and to all whom you have made.
We bless you for our creation, preservation,
and all the blessings of this life;
but above all for your immeasurable love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies,
that with truly thankful hearts
we may show forth your praise,
not only with our lips, but in our lives,
by giving up our selves to your service,
and by walking before you
in holiness and righteousness all our days;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.
For Your Reflection
- Ponder your life, and the things you are thankful for. Are you regularly giving credit to God for these things, or are you unknowingly trying to take credit yourself?
- How could a greater heart posture of thanksgiving change things in your life?
- Consider the discipline of something like a “Gratitude Journal,” where you are regularly writing down your blessings in order to give thanks for them. How could you see a practice like this changing your heart?