A Prayer to Keep Thanksgiving in Our Hearts Year-Round
By: Amanda Idleman
Bible Reading:
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 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 100:1-5
Listen or Read Below:
The Psalms are a beautiful liturgy that captures the wide expanse of human emotions. As you read these prayers and songs unto the Lord, you hear the writers question, seek, lament, search, and then remind their hearts of God’s goodness. At the end of each of these short poems, the writer finds a way to give thanks and praise God for who he is, no matter what is going on around them. What a great lesson for us!
Giving thanks is something that we should practice daily as believers because we are called to recognize that the source of all things comes not from chance but from our good and mighty God. When we give thanks, we are honoring his provision and reminding ourselves that our lives are bigger than the next urgent task in front of us. We are part of a grand plan that God has for the world. Our choices and lives have purpose because we were created in the image of God and commissioned by him to bring his light down into our chaotic, sinful world.
Thanksgiving is key in the process of ushering our hearts into God’s presence. We can approach God with our worries, but in his presence, those cares come into proper perspective. With God, there is always hope and always something we can give him thanks for. As we choose thanksgiving, we are choosing to bring our hearts closer to God, who provides all things for us.
The best way to be intentional about giving thanks year-round is to make gratitude a part of your daily and weekly routine. Give thanks at meals, start or end your day by pondering those special moments of joy God has gifted you, or begin your prayers with gratitude. Weekly check-in with you people. Share something that was a highlight from your week that you are thankful for. We don't have to wait for the holidays to be intentional about giving thanks.
When we practice regular gratitude, our lives begin to change. We start to see God at work more clearly in our stories. Our attitude improves as we acknowledge the grace that abounds in each of our stories. Negativity, bitterness, sadness, and unforgiveness are harder to hold onto. Thanksgiving changes our hearts, which over time changes our lives. The seemingly simple practice of giving thanks year-round has the power to change our lives.
Let’s Pray:
Father, we thank you for all the ways you faithfully provide for us.
Your grace is amazing. Help us to make gratitude a part of our daily, weekly, and annual rhythms. Allow thanksgiving to change our hearts and to draw us closer to you. Help us to have eyes that see you at work in our world and in our lives. Give us the humility we need to give you the glory for all the goodness we have access to here in the land of the living. Fill my heart with joy as I meditate on your goodness and grace.
Open my heart to health, to forgiveness, and toward freedom as I learn to be more thankful for what you have blessed me with. Let praise fill my heart, my home, and my mouth. Allow your love to inspire me to have a more positive attitude in my everyday life. Let the gratitude I practice inspire others, pointing them to you, the author and giver of life and every good gift.
Amen.
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Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Marinela Malcheva
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Originally published Friday, 28 November 2025.
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