Growing up, you were likely taught to say the key words “please” and “thank you.” We are shown early on that thanksgiving is an appropriate and polite response to receiving help, gifts, and all kinds of service. At various intervals in life, you might have put the words “thank you” into a formal letter or thank-you card—after graduations, weddings, or baby showers. But I doubt you’ve ever considered the New Testament letters as thank-you notes of a similar sort.

In almost all of Paul’s letters (Galatians being the notable exception), he makes a point of giving thanks to both God and people. The apostle models for the churches and the individuals to whom he writes how thanksgiving is worked out in the Christian life. Colossians is an instructive example for us because it mentions thanksgiving and thankfulness frequently. What can we learn about the practice of thanksgiving from this little, New Testament letter?

The Object of Our Thanks

One of the most important parts of thanksgiving is its recipient—who is it to? We gather from Colossians 1:2 that Paul wrote the letter “to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae” (ESV). But in the next verse, Paul directs his thanks not to the Christians at Colossae but to God: “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you” because of the Colossians’ faith and love (Colossians 1:3–4, ESV). He recognizes that their faith and love are signs of God’s grace, and he gives God the glory as he does later in Colossians 1:12: “giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints of light” (ESV).

Paul expresses his thanks to God because God is responsible for the good things happening in Colossae. This doesn’t suggest that it’s wrong to thank individuals for their gifts or service—Paul himself does this elsewhere (Philippians 4:14–20). But because “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17, ESV), no thanksgiving is complete that does not also include an expression of gratitude to God.

Paul teaches us by his example that our gratitude for others ought to overflow in thanksgiving to God. But Paul not only exemplifies this; he explicitly commands it, as he does in Colossians 3:16-17:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (ESV, emphasis added)

Note the exhaustiveness of this command: “whatever you do, in word or deed” ought to result in giving thanks to God the Father through the Lord Jesus. God is the proper object of all our thanksgiving. Think of how this also elevates the one receiving our thanks. What’s more encouraging to your benefactor? “Thank you for your generosity,” or “I thank my God for you.” One says, “I appreciate you,” while the other says, “I appreciate you to such a degree that I mention you before my God, thanking him for you.” When practicing your thanksgiving, whether in spoken word or written word, make God the primary recipient.

The Origin of Our Thanks

Another important part of thanksgiving is its origin point—where is it from? Paul tells us in Colossians 3:16 to teach, admonish, and sing “with thankfulness in your hearts” (ESV, emphasis added). Gratitude comes from the heart. We see this also in the previous verse: “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful” (Colossians 3:15, ESV, emphasis added). As the peace of Christ rules in our hearts, what comes out is thankfulness.

Paul is showing us that gratitude is a disposition of the heart, a reflex of one whose heart has been changed by Christ. Prior to “the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5, ESV), our hearts were darkened so that we refused to give thanks to God, as it is written of the ungodly in Romans 1:21: “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (ESV).

Yet one of the evidences of grace in the life of the Christian is a heart that is grateful to God. How do I know that my heart has been transformed by God’s grace? Because it sings with gratitude! When practicing your thanksgiving, test your heart: Does my “thank you” proceed from mere obligation or from heartfelt sincerity?

How Thankfulness Is Learned

The good news is, if you find thanksgiving to be a stale duty rather than a joyful overflow of your heart, it is a discipline that can be learned. We see this in Colossians 2:6–7, which reads, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” (ESV, emphasis added).

The good news is that Paul’s example and command can be learned and practiced. The result is not simply that we learn to say thank you in response to another’s kindness but that we can abound and even overflow with thanksgiving. We experience this sort of abundant gratitude as we walk daily with Jesus.

It’s important to note that we are not the root of grand gratitude; Jesus is. It’s as we are “rooted and built up in him” that we learn to abound in thanksgiving. We’ve already seen one example of how this can come about in Colossians 3:16. It’s as “the word of Christ” dwells in us richly that we come to teach and admonish and sing with thankfulness in our hearts. As we abide in His words, meditate on His teachings, apply His instructions, follow His commands, and heed His warnings, our joy will be full (John 15:11).

How Thankfulness Is Expressed

When that joyful gratitude is full and overflowing, what is the best way to express it? We saw in Colossians 3:16 that we can express it in singing. The songs we sing to God matter. When we gather with the assembly to worship Him, our songs are one of two kinds: (1) They are addressed to the congregation as an exhortation, or (2) they are addressed to God as a prayer.

We can also express gratitude in prayer. Colossians 4:2 instructs us to “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving” (ESV). This is the eighth and final mention of thanksgiving in Colossians. What Paul does by example in Colossians 1:3, he commands the church to practice here in Colossians 4:2: We are to express our thanksgiving to God by prayer.

Many in the Church use the acronym A.C.T.S. as a guide for the order and content of their prayers: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. This is a useful tool, as it should be our habit to thank God in our prayers. Whether you do so by writing your prayers in a journal, praying aloud with others, or singing Godward songs with the Church, make thanksgiving a central component to your prayers. Season your prayers with thankfulness in the same way you season your speech with graciousness (Colossians 4:6).

Practice Your Thanksgiving

If you’re in the habit of keeping a prayer list, search the list with these categories in mind: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. Mark each item on your prayer list with the corresponding letter (e.g., A for Adoration). My guess is that most of our prayer lists are lined with items of supplication, our requests. Here is my challenge to you: Make a prayer list that has a careful balance of each element from the acronym.

As you work specifically on items of thanksgiving, here are a few suggestions to help you. First, consider the prayers of Paul. What is it that stirs him to give thanks to God? You might start with Colossians 1:3–14, but other passages include Ephesians 1:15–23, Philippians 1:3–11, 1 Thessalonians 1:2–10; 2:13–16; 3:6–13, and 2 Thessalonians 1:3.

Second, you might keep a running list of answered prayers from your supplication section. We are quick to forget God’s mercies in answering our prayers, but this is one way we can help ourselves remember His kindness. We want to imitate that one leper of ten who turned back to give thanks to Jesus for His healing (Luke 17:11–19).

Third, even as you look back at answered prayers, look forward to God’s future and certain promises. Thank Him now for the ways in which He has promised to do good to you. Thank Him now for the prospect of eternal life with Him, where there is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11).

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Author Bio

K. Jack Faught serves as Associate Pastor at Parsons Baptist Church in Columbus, Ohio. He is pursuing a D.Min. in Applied Theology from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Jack lives in Columbus with his wife, Claire, and their two sons. He enjoys discipling his boys, making his wife laugh, and spending time with his church.

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Colossians Bible Study		Pray Bible Study		Thankful All Year Long: Encouragement from Psalm 100
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