This is the third article in a series taking a closer look at the acrostic “ACTS” which stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. I first mentioned this acrostic in Part 1 of the “Can the Gospel Wreck Your Marriage” series. It is an easy and memorable way to structure your prayers.

So far we have taken a look at “A” – Adoration and “C” – Confession. Today I am expounding on the “T” – Thanksgiving.

In my opinion, there is a very fine line between adoration and thanksgiving. When I am focused on all the ways that God is worthy of my praise and adoration, I have an overwhelming sense of thanksgiving.

In our post titled “Six Things You Can be Thankful For” we talked about WHAT everyone has to be thankful for, regardless of their current situation. So in this article, we’ll look at five reasons WHY we give thanks.

You can probably guess what number one is….

1. Because the Bible tells us to give thanks.

“in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

“Sing praise to the Lord, you His godly ones, and give thanks to His holy name.” – Psalm 30:4

 “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” – Colossians 3:17

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” – Philippians 4:6

A search through the NASB version of the Bible reveals 170 times the root word “thank” appears (thank, thanks, and thanksgiving). Above are just a few of them that state as an imperative (a command/vital importance) to give thanks to God.  They are in both the Old and New Testaments but as you might have guessed, a lot of them are found in Psalms. It is pretty clear that it is important for us to give thanks!

2. Because His deeds and wonders deserve it.

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples.” – 1 Chronicles 16:8

And in that day you will say, “Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; Make them remember that His name is exalted.” – Isaiah 12:4

“I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.” – Psalm 139:14

“O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; For You have worked wonders, Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.” – Isaiah 25:1

Think about it. Look around you. God created this amazing universe. He formed the earth and the sky. He separated the seas. He set our earth in motion precisely as it needed to be to sustain life. He created every living creature, designed our lungs, our hearts, all the complicated intricacies of our body. His deeds and wonders are worthy of our thanks!

I found it interesting how many verses followed the imperative to give thanks with words like “make known His deeds” and “tell of Your wonders.” A heart of thankfulness is grateful for His creation and wants to share with others the proclamation of His majesty!

3. Because His lovingkindness is everlasting.

“O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” – 1 Chronicles 16:34

 “Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” – 2 Chronicles 20:21b

 “I will bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.” – Psalm 138:2

“Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men!” – Psalm 107:8 (also Psalm 107:15, Psalm 107:21, and Psalm 107:31)

The following verses also state “For His lovingkindness is everlasting:”

Psalm 106:1, Psalm 107:1, Psalm 118:1, Psalm 118:29, Psalm 136:1, Psalm 136:2, Psalm 136:3, and Psalm 136:26!

Do you think the Psalmist was trying to make a point?

God is good and His lovingkindness has no end. God’s love is definitely a reason why we should give thanks to Him! He loves us so much that even though we were living in disobedience and separated from His presence, He sent His only begotten Son as a payment for our sin that we might be reconciled to Him. (Romans 5:7-9, John 3:16)

Which leads us to the fourth reason…

4. Because He provides victory/salvation.

“but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 15:57

“I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me, And You have become my salvation.” – Psalm 118:21

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.” – 2 Corinthians 2:14

“giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.” – Colossians 1:12

In God we can have victory over temptation, sin, depression, even death! Not that our physical bodies will last forever, but because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we can have eternal life with Him. Thankfulness is an attitude of gratefulness and should be expressed to God. It is an expression of humility in knowing that every victory we have comes from Him. Gratefulness for the small victories (thank you God for giving me the ability to study and make an A on that test), for the larger victories (thank you God for providing a job which supplies income to my family), and for the biggest victory of all (thank you God for my salvation). Thankfulness is an expression of our love toward our Creator, Provider, Giver of eternal life!

Last, but definitely not least….

5. Because Jesus did it.

So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.” – John 11:41

“There came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks.” – John 6:23

and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” – 1 Corinthians 11:24

“And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.” – Mark 14:23

There was no requirement or need for Jesus, the One for whom all things were made for, through and by, to give thanks to the Father. However, He took time to set an example for us and give thanks when He miraculously fed the large crowds and when He celebrated His last Passover meal with His disciples. He also thanked His Father for hearing Him before He raised Lazarus from the dead. As in all of Jesus’ time on this earth, He set the perfect example for us to follow. If He felt it necessary and fitting to give God thanks then surely, we should also!

My declaration of thanksgiving.

I wanted to leave you with three more verses which are my personal declaration of thanksgiving. They are already written in the first person so can be quoted to God verbatim as a pledge to Him.

“Willingly I will sacrifice to You; I will give thanks to Your name, O Lord, for it is good.” – Psalm 54:6

“That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.” – Psalm 30:12

“I will cause Your name to be remembered in all generations; Therefore the peoples will give You thanks forever and ever.” – Psalm 45:17

That last one I find particularly important. Sharing our faith with our children and grandchildren is a top priority. It is important that they understand the hope we have in Christ. For more on that topic read the Letter to my Granddaughter.

In the article How to Start Your Day off Right you will find ten declarations that are also first-person statements based on God’s Word that can be used in your prayer time.

Are you thankful and do you express your gratitude to the Creator of the universe? What will you give thanks to Him for today?

Be sure and read the last article in this series on the “S” – Supplication.

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