Giving thanks to God for our very particular and unique lives

In Christian circles we often talk of giving thanks to God. However, when I have given thanks I have usually had the thanks part in mind but without focussing all that much on the giving aspect, and as a result I am now realising that I have missed out! When we give thanks to God, we are not only thanking him for what he has done for us, but we are also presenting a gift to God – and, moreover, a gift he is very pleased to receive. Indeed, I would go as far as to say that he wants to receive this gift from us more than any money or other resources we could dedicate to him, more than any personal sacrifice we might make, and more than any religious dedications we might commit ourselves to!

But why does God prefer our thanks as a gift? It is because our relationship with God is essentially a two-way affair. So, when we are giving thanks to him we are offering ourselves as we give the specifics of who we are to him in terms of the very particular and unique joy and liberation we are able to claim and acknowledge in our lives – for example, we might thank him for the particular friends we have, the music we like, the job we are employed in, the partners and sons and daughters we love, the kind strangers we have met, the good films we have seen, the songs we have sung, the books we have read, the many good laughs we have had, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. The point is that when we give thanks about these very particular aspects of our lives which are unique to each of us, we become more ready to receive back from him, as our hearts become more open to the love and joy God wants each of us to uniquely experience and be thankful for. Once I understood these aspects of giving thanks to God afresh, I was able to pray with a much fuller sense of freedom and joy, that what I was giving God concerning the particulars of who I am was worthwhile, that this is what he enjoys receiving – and that my giving to God in this way stimulates even more blessings from him as his love for me (and you) is never-ending. As it say in 1 Chronicles 16:34: “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His love endures forever.”

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