Prayer As Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving only takes place when we are talking to God. Contentedness is not thanksgiving. Expressing a general sense of “being blessed” is not thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is you telling God, “Thank you!”

However, it is also true that there is a public aspect to giving thanks. This is why gratitude is constantly connected to public proclamation of God’s glory.

So thanksgiving is first and foremost prayer. Yet it is not biblical thanksgiving if it remains only private. True thanksgiving overflows in public, prayerful proclamation of the goodness of God, through Jesus Christ.