Growing up, we had a Thanksgiving tradition. After the turkey and stuffing, the green bean casserole, and the sweet potatoes with gooey marshmallows were set steaming on the table, we’d find our seats and join hands. Right before the prayer, my dad would ask each of us to share one thing we were thankful for.
In fact, my dad was good at carrying this gratitude tradition into the year too. It might be a random Wednesday in February with the seven of us kids seated at the breakfast table, and dad would pause to ask each of us to share something we were thankful for that day. Usually, it was a quick and easy answer. "Friends." "Family." "New shoes." But if it happened to be a sleepy morning or your brother had stolen your bathroom time, you might not feel very thankful.
Season of Gratitude
Maybe you are currently overflowing with gratitude and praise for life and you have three journal pages full of things to be thankful for.
Or maybe this has been one of those years that’s like one long, cranky, school morning, and you just can’t drum up much gratitude at the moment.
King David, who wrote many of the Psalms, understood the ebb and flow of life seasons. And no matter what we find ourselves carrying into this holiday season, we can be encouraged by David’s words about our God.
10 Psalms of Praise & Thanksgiving
Whether you’re approaching the holiday season with over-the-moon gratitude or a feeble attempt to drum up a droplet of thanks, may you find hope and encouragement in these Psalms of praise and thanksgiving to our God.
1. God’s beautiful love for you never changes, never falters, and never ends. Psalm 136
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
(136:1)
2. God’s faithfulness toward you goes on forever. Psalm 117
...the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord! (117:2)
3. God is God: worthy of praise, awesome in creative power, and full of goodness. Psalm 100
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his (100:3)
4. God purposefully created you as an intricate work of art, and He cares about every little piece of you. Psalm 139
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. (139:14)
5. God is the greatest hope and encouragement for a worn-out soul. Psalm 42
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. (42:11)
6. God is the best and truest antidote to any fear. Psalm 56
In God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me? (56:11)
7. God is a nurturing Shepherd who knows just what you need. Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. (23:1)
8. God is your best defender. Psalm 27
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (27:1)
9. God is a trustworthy provider with your best interest at heart. Psalm 37
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. (37:5)
10. God is here with you, listening and eager to help. Psalm 145
The Lord is near to all who call on Him to all who call on Him in truth. (145:18)
