Start with Thankfulness
In Romans 1:8, after greeting the Roman church, the first thing Paul does is thank God. Though subtle, this example carries profound weight for us in the Body of Christ today, because genuine thankfulness to God reshapes both our hearts and our minds.
Later in the same chapter of Romans, we see a sobering statement about what happens when we don’t glorify God and aren’t thankful for what He has given us:
“Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” – Romans 1:21-25
When we forget to honor God as the source of all things and of our salvation through His grace, unthankfulness creeps in. We begin idolizing ourselves and the vain things around us. We start following the lies of the world. We start loving ourselves instead of loving God and others (2Ti 3:1-7).
It’s no surprise, then, that thankfulness is emphasized as such an important part of prayer in the Bible.
Thankfulness is a necessary ingredient to a fruitful life in Christ (Col 3:17; 1Th 5:17-18; 1Ti 2:1). No matter what happens in our lives, we can always be thankful for what Christ has done for us through His death and resurrection.
The realization of our sinful nature humbles us and reorients our hearts to be thankful for what we don’t deserve through Christ’s abundant grace. That humility allows us to walk in charity (Col 3:12-15; Php 2:3-8; 1Co 13:4-7).
Another important aspect of thankfulness to God is not only what He has done for you, but also what He has done for others in the Body! In our selfish flesh, we don’t naturally like to think about other people. Yet Scripture repeatedly highlights the importance of praying for others.
In Romans, Colossians, and Ephesians, Paul recounts his continual prayers for the saints, and the first thing he expresses is his thankfulness to God for them (Rom 1:8-12; Col 1:3-4; Eph 1:15-16). The pattern is nearly identical in these passages, showing us how important it is:
He hears of their faith in Christ and their love for the saints.
He thanks God for them continually in his prayers.
He then exhorts and edifies them through his epistle.
This is the beauty of fellowship with other believers: as we hear of God’s work in them, we can praise and thank God for them in prayer. In turn, this stirs our desire to continue edifying those saints.
When we practice thankfulness, for God’s grace and for others, our minds shift from being self-focused to Christ-focused and others-focused. Thankfulness fuels our readiness to serve both God and people.
If you don’t believe me, try praying continually for those in your life and see what happens! You’ll find yourself growing in love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, mercy, kindness, humility, forgiveness, and charity, and it will shift your heart and mind toward them in a positive way (Col 3:14; Gal 5:22-23)! Thanks be to God!
