The Threefold Perspective of Genuine Gratitude

Looking Afresh to the Most Misused Form of Prayer

In 1978 Henry Smith was struggling with bad eyesight that would eventually leave him blind. He was a young seminary graduate who was struggling with finding work as well as the blindness. On a certain day he was thinking about a verse of Scripture that stirred him to write a beautiful song.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

—2 Corinthians 8:9

Instead of sinking in despair, he turned to being grateful to the Lord. How often do I need to practice this same bit of praying in my own life.

It seems that giving thanks is the most misused form of prayer in our world. We focus on thanksgiving each year on the 3rd Thursday after the 1st Sunday in November. This is why (math is required) we never know when Thanksgiving Day occurs until we see it on a calendar.

We are taught in the Scriptures to give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Gratitude is not a once a year activity, it is a continual mode of praying to the Father.

The other misuse of giving thanks is the regular absence of identifying to whom we are grateful. We simply say, I’m thankful. That’s not a complete thought about prayer.

In the song written by Henry Smith, we see a threefold perspective of genuine gratitude that helps us avoid these misuses.

1. Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart

This perspective is one of looking deep inside ourselves. If our gratitude comes from the heart, we avoid just giving lip service to our prayers. We know God is not impressed when we pray - especially by giving thanks - with our lips when our hearts are far from the words we speak.

When you say thank you to the Lord, are your words flowing from your heart through your lips? Or do they originate at the lips?

2. Give Thanks to the Holy One

This emphasis focuses on the one to whom we are thankful. We are thankful to our God. And He is not just any God. He is the Holy One. The one who is perfection in all that He is and all that He does.

The characteristics or attributes of God cannot be separated from one another. Yet, like many others I am of the mind that the holiness of God is his chief attribute.

Throughout Scripture God is referred to as holy. Hear from Peter:

But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

—1 Peter 1:15-16

When Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, the angels declared, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts (Isaiah 6:3).

This holy God is the one to whom we give thanks. Do you realize this when you are giving thanks, or could you just as easily address your gratitude To Whom It May Concern?

3. Give Thanks Because He’s Given Jesus Christ, His Son

This focal point gives the greatest reason to give thanks. We thank God because He is a giving God. But he doesn’t merely give us shiny trinkets. He has given us his one and only Son. This Son is God who became flesh. He lived a sinless life that we could not live. He died on a cross for our crimes and sins. He was raised to life eternal.

This is the gift that the Father has give to us. How can we not be grateful?

So, let your giving of thanks swell up from your heart and out through your lips. Let it ascend to the heavens and to the ear of the Father. Let it be that which is focused on the supreme gift that the Father has give to us — Jesus.

I’m grateful that Henry Smith grasped this threefold perspective and put pen to paper in giving us this glorious song.

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