Don’t Forget Thanksgiving

Nov 26 2024 - Eric Buresh

As we’ve been studying the Lord’s prayer together, I hope the model has enriched your prayer life as it has mine and as it has for so many brothers and sisters down through the generations. When I follow the model prayer in my prayer time, one thing that has really benefited my heart’s relationship with the Father is to add an emphasis on thanksgiving. This too was regularly modeled in Christ’s prayers.   

It is a striking and beautiful fact that our Lord Jesus, in His earthly ministry, so often paused to give thanks. Whether breaking bread to feed the multitudes, lifting His voice at Lazarus’ tomb, blessing the cup at the Last Supper, or sitting down to a meal with the disciples after His resurrection, He expressed gratitude to His Father. Surely, the One who was the very Son of God, who shared in the fullness of the divine nature, had no need to give thanks—but He chose to anyway. In doing so, He teaches us not only the necessity but the joy of thanksgiving in our communion with God. 

Now, to be clear, I am not saying the Lord’s prayer is devoid of thanksgiving. While it is more focused on a perfect pattern of reverence, dependence, confession, and petition, I submit that thanksgiving fits perfectly alongside its petitions. “Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” Is this not an invitation to delight in God and to express gratitude for His holiness, His nearness, and His love? Every phrase of the Lord's Prayer becomes richer when we approach it with thanksgiving. 

Thanksgiving adds a note of joy to our prayers. Too often, we come to God as beggars with long lists of needs, as if we were begging a God who is reluctant to bless. But thanksgiving changes the tone. It reminds us that we are children coming to a generous Father, who has already given us so much. When we say, “Give us this day our daily bread,” how fitting it is to thank Him for all the bread He has given us in the past! When we ask, “Forgive us our debts,” let us thank Him for the unmeasurable forgiveness we already have in Christ. Thanksgiving opens the door to joy and teaches us to trust in the abundance of God’s grace. 

Thanksgiving also fuels faith. When Jesus gave thanks before breaking the bread and fishes, there was not yet enough to feed the multitude. Yet He gave thanks, trusting in His Father’s provision. When we thank God for the past, we remember His faithfulness. When we thank God in advance for the future, we demonstrate faith that He will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory. 

If thanksgiving was the habit of our Savior, how much more should it be ours? Let us take up this holy practice, not merely as a duty but as a delight. When you pray, add thanksgiving to your petitions. Thank God for His love, His mercy, His provision, and His promises. Let gratitude season your every prayer, for in thanksgiving, we find the joy of the Lord and the assurance of His care.