Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received.
Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling.
Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.
From: Henry Van Dyke
For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies.Refrain:
Christ, our Lord, to you we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise.For the wonder of each hour
of the day and of the night,
hill and vale and tree and flower,
sun and moon and stars of light, [Refrain ]For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth, and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild, [Refrain]For yourself, best gift divine,
to the world so freely given,
agent of God’s grand design:
peace on earth and joy in heaven. [Refrain]
From: Psalter Hymnal, 1987; Author: Folliott Sandford Pierpoint
I believe that gratitude is a spiritual discipline on the order of prayer, study, service, etc. God wants us to be thankful, not for His benefit, but for ours! The more grateful we are the closer we draw to God who is the source of all blessings. Our annual celebration of Thanksgiving should be a time when we strengthen the bond between what we are, or what we have, and God’s blessing in our lives. We should become more deeply aware of how greatly God has blessed us.
From: Terry Ellis, “Forever Thankful,” http://gracewavestoday.com/?p=1349
“O give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His steadfast love endures forever.” Psalm 118:1
“O Lord who lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.”
From: William Shakespeare
The dominant characteristic of an authentic spiritual life is the gratitude that flows from trust – not only for all the gifts that I receive from God, but gratitude for all the suffering. Because in that purifying experience, suffering has often been the shortest path to intimacy with God.
From: Brennan Manning
I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.
From: Gilbert K. Chesterton
The General Thanksgiving
Almighty God, Father of all mercies,
we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks
for all your goodness and loving-kindness
to us and to all whom you have made.
We bless you for our creation, preservation,
and all the blessings of this life;
but above all for your immeasurable love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies,
that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise,
not only with our lips, but in our lives,
by giving up our selves to your service,
and by walking before you
in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be honor and glory throughout all ages.
Amen.
From: Office of Morning Prayer, Book of Common Prayer (1979), p 101
(Go to Disciplewalk.org for a few thoughts about this prayer)
If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.
— Meister Eckhart
In Thanksgiving, Let Us Praise Him
From the first bright light of morning
To the last warm glow of dusk;
Every breath we take is sacred,
For it is God’s gift to us.
Refrain
In thanksgiving, let us praise Him;
In thanksgiving let us sing
Songs of praise and adoration
To our gracious Lord and King.
In the season of our plenty,
In the season of our need;
We will find His grace sufficient,
We will find His love complete.
Safe within His hand that guides us,
Hidden in His healing wings;
Day by day His love provides us
Every good and perfect thing.
Source: Celebration Hymnal #796
http://www.hymnary.org/text/from_the_first_bright_light_of_morning
“Give thanks in all circumstances! [1 Thessalonians 5:18]
“Thankfulness ought always to characterize the people of God, as they say to themselves: ‘Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits’ (Ps.103:2). Indeed, ‘the Christian’s life is to be an unceasing eucharist’. Thanksgiving also belongs, side by side with rejoicing and praying, to our public worship (Cf. Eph.5:20). In it there is a place for a ‘general thanksgiving’ in which we express our gratitude both for the material blessings of the creation and above all for God’s priceless love in redeeming the world through Jesus Christ, which we celebrate at the Lord’s Supper, the Holy Communion or, as it soon became to be called in the early Church, the Eucharist (*eucharistia* meaning simply thanksgiving’)….
“We cannot of course thank God ‘for all circumstances’, including those which are evil and displeasing to him; but we can and should thank him *in all circumstances* or ‘whatever happens’ (REB). We may not always feel like praising, praying or giving God thanks. Our circumstances may not be conducive to these things. Yet we are to do so all the same. Why? Because *this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus* (18b). This statement almost certainly belongs to all three commands which precede it. It is God’s will, as expressed and seen in Jesus Christ, whenever his people meet together for worship, and whatever their feelings and circumstances may be, that there should be rejoicing in him, praying to him and giving him thanks for his mercies.”
From: John Stott, The Message of Thessalonians: The Cross of Christ. The Bible Speaks Today, Inter-Varsity Press UK, Nottingham.