How to Give Thanks

Expressing gratitude through praise and thanksgiving can start in any area of our lives and bring immediate results.

According to the Bible, all of us are made in the image of God.

Our exercise in gratitude will begin with these words: I praise and give thanks for God’s image in me.

You cannot repeat these words sincerely for long without feeling a flow of energy that lifts your whole being. And perhaps for the first time, you will begin to appreciate who and what you are. Although you may have buried your real self, your identity, in the mire of condemnation and ingratitude, it will soon respond to your words, thoughts and feelings of gratitude expressed through praise and thanksgiving.

For a refreshing approach to praying for others, use the same gratitude exercise in this way: I praise and give thanks for God’s image in you.

The finest help we can give another human being is to recognize gratefully his or her true identity. This exercise in gratitude, performed silently and sincerely, will often change another’s life for the better.

Jesus said that we are the light of the world. Try this exercise: I praise and give thanks for the light of the world that I am and for my expanding ability to let this light shine.

"I praise and give thanks for God's image in me."

Consistent practice of this exercise will erase darkness from mind, heart, body and affairs and fill your whole being and world with light. It will be easy for you to rephrase this so that you can help in letting light into someone else’s life.

The apostle Paul told us that after we discover our real identity, we stop letting ourselves be pushed around by the world of appearances and become a life-giving spirit.

Here is an affirmation with which to begin

As a life-giving spirit, I praise and give thanks for the power to stimulate all the life and health-distributing centers of my mind, heart and body.

Or try: As a life-giving spirit, I praise and give thanks for the power to release this vitalizing energy of eternal life into all that concerns me. I joyously charge mind, heart, body, work, relationships with other people, and my whole world with the refreshing life current I distribute.

And don’t stop with yourself! As a life-giving spirit, you can send a current of energizing life into another’s experience.

Enjoy this podcast with Rev. Ed Townley — A Simple 'Thanks' Will Do