Prayer of thanksgiving by Joyce Meyer

Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly]; Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will]. -1 Thessalonians 5:17-18

Immediately after telling us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to pray without ceasing, the apostle Paul directs us in verse 18 to give thanks to God in everything, no matter what our circumstances may be. This is the will of God for us.

Just as prayer is to be a lifestyle for us, so should thanksgiving be. Giving thanks to God should not be something we do once a day as we sit down somewhere and try to think of all the good things He has done for us and merely say, “Thanks Lord.”

That’s religion—something we do simply because we think God requires it.

True thanksgiving flows continually out of a heart that is full of gratitude and praise to God for who He is as much as for what He does. It is not something that’s done to meet a requirement, win favor, gain victory or qualify for a blessing.

God desires the type of thanksgiving that’s provoked by the Holy Spirit within us. He nudges us to verbally express what we feel and experience spiritually.

True thanksgiving is the kind express by the psalmist when he wrote: O give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever. (Psalm 136:3)