Prayers of Praise & Thanksgiving
Below you will find a summary of this week’s teaching, along with daily prayer prompts. You can also download a printable version of the daily prompts.
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Each of us is invited to develop a prayer life with God that is totally unique and special—no two people’s prayer lives will look the same! Yet, In Scripture, we find “types” of prayer that are helpful for all of us to grow in. This week, we focused on prayers of “praise” and “thanksgiving”.
Thanksgiving focuses on benefits and blessings bestowed to us. It’s the outward expression of our inward gratitude.
Praise focuses on the character of God and our love for Him.
Both are important in approaching God—we find them together often in Scripture: “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4).
As we enter into God’s presence with these prayers, God inhabits them! (Ps. 22:3)
Praise and thanksgiving help us to see Him rightly—they help bring us higher to see from His perspective.
Remember, the very process of praying is transformational. We cannot live a life of prayer without being transformed more into His likeness, which is God’s whole purpose for us! (Rom. 8:28-29)
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This week, we’ve provided 6 different ways to exercise prayers of thanksgiving and praise. Choose a new one to try each day—you might get through all 6 this week, or you might want to repeat some of them! We learn to pray… by praying!
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Find a consistent time and place to set aside 20-30 minutes daily.
Print out the prayer prompts and Scriptures.
Invite family or roommates to join in, or find your own quiet space without distractions.
Put your phone on “Do Not Disturb” and put it in the other room.
The prompts provided here are just a guide. Feel free to adjust and adapt during your prayer time.
Don’t worry if you miss one day. Just pick it up again the next day and keep going!
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Psalm 103 tells us to “Bless the Lord… and forget not all His benefits.” Read through Psalm 103 below, and call to mind all the blessings you can count in your life. What can you thank Him for? What ways has He forgiven your sins? Have you seen Him heal? How has He redeemed any part of your life from destruction? How has He shown you His lovingkindness and tender mercies?
Psalm 103:1-5: Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
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A great way to stir up praise is to go on a prayer walk in God’s creation. Go for a walk outside and notice the creation you see all around you—let that invite you to notice the Creator. Praise Him for the many ways you see His handiwork on display! If you can’t get outside for a prayer walk, even going on a walk around your home or around the grocery store can work—the point is to observe our surroundings and be stimulated to praise as you move and notice the evidence of Him around you.
Psalm 148:1-5: Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise Him in the heights! Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you stars of light! Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the LORD, for He commanded and they were created.
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Declaring the names of Jesus is a great way to awaken our spirit and draw us into greater awareness of who He is. Focus on forgetting about yourself and simply concentrate on Jesus. Using the list below as a starting point, turn your attention and affection towards Him and magnify Him. If one of the phrases stands out, stay on it for a minute—repeat it, re-word it, expand upon it. As we respond to those little invitations to look closer, He delights to reveal Himself! If you want to go deeper, look up the Scripture references and meditate on them.
I praise You, Jesus—You are my Love. (Song 2:10)
I praise You, Jesus—You are the Name Above All Names. (Phil. 2:9)
I praise You, Jesus—You are Emmanuel, “God With Us.” (Matt. 1:23)
I praise You, Jesus—You are Lord of lords and King of kings. (Rev. 17:14)
I praise You, Jesus—You are the Lamb of God. (John 1:29)
I praise You, Jesus—You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (John 14:6)
I praise You, Jesus—You are the Wonderful Counselor. (Isa. 9:6)
I praise You, Jesus—You are the Prince of Peace. (Isa. 9:6)
I praise You, Jesus—You are the Light of the World. (John 8:12)
I praise You, Jesus—You are the Living Word. (Heb. 4:12; John 1:1)
I praise You, Jesus—You are the Christ, the Anointed One. (Luke 4:18; Matt. 16:16)
I praise You, Jesus—You are the Holy One. (Isa. 43:15)
I praise You, Jesus—You are the Good Shepherd. (John 10:14)
I praise You, Jesus—You are the Rock of Ages. (Isa. 26:4)
I praise You, Jesus—You are the Saviour of the World. (1 John 4:14)
I praise You, Jesus—You are the great I AM. (Exo. 3:14)
I praise You, Jesus—You are the Living Water. (Rev. 21:6; John 4:14)
I praise You, Jesus—You are the Bread of Life. (John 6:35)
I praise You, Jesus—You are my Wisdom. (1 Cor. 1:24)
I praise You, Jesus—You are my Righteousness. (Jer. 33:16)
I praise You, Jesus—You are my Deliverer. (2 Sam. 22:2)
I praise You, Jesus—You are my Healer. (Exo. 15:26)
I praise You, Jesus—You are the Cornerstone. (Eph. 2:20)
I praise You, Jesus—You are the Lord of the Angel Armies. (Ps. 46:7)
I praise You, Jesus—You are the Bridegroom. (John 3:28-30)
I praise You, Jesus—You are the Everlasting One. (Isa. 40:28)
I praise You, Jesus—You are the Lamb Who Was Slain. (Rev. 5:12)
I praise You, Jesus—You are the Just Judge. (Ps. 7:11)
I praise You, Jesus—You are my Salvation. (Luke 2:30)
I praise You, Jesus—You are Resurrection Life. (John 11:25)
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Philippians 4:6 tells us, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” Think of an area of need in your life, something that you are still waiting for God to answer. With that in mind, think about ways you’ve seen God prove Himself in similar ways in the past, and begin to thank Him for how He has been faithful. For example, if you’re in need of provision, how have you seen Him provide in the past? If you’re in need of healing, how have you seen Him heal in the past, either in your life or in others’ lives? What Scriptures remind us of His ability to heal or provide or answer your need? Thank Him! Make your requests known to God from a place of gratitude for His ability and desire to meet our needs.
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Singing to the Lord is a great way to praise Him! This isn’t reserved for the “musically gifted”—He loves to hear your voice singing to Him! It has been said: “He who sings, prays twice.” Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Begin by closing your eyes and being still. Intentionally set your focus.
Hum, or sing in tongues if you are released in that gift.
Sing songs or hymns that declare who God is (for example: ‘I Love You Lord’ or ‘Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus’).
Sing a simple word or phrase over and over—like ‘Holy’—after all, that is what is being sung and declared around the throne of God 24/7!
Sing a new song unto the Lord as the Holy Spirit leads, using your own words.
Psalm 95:1-2: Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.
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This is similar to singing praise, but specifically here we focus on thanking God for what He’s done for us… we “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations” (Psalm 100:4-5).
Here are some songs that specifically focus on thankfulness (click the link to play)—sing along if you like, or simply let the words soak and wash over you, stirring up your gratitude.