15. The Apostle of Giving Thanks
"…Be thankful... with gratitude in your hearts … giving thanks to
God…" (Colossians 3:15-17 HCB). There is no doubt that when the writings of the New Testament apostles are compared, it is the apostle Paul who might be called "the apostle of giving thanks." Paul uses the word for "thanks" in its various forms more than all other New Testament writers combined, and all except two of Paul's epistles (his letters to the Galatians and Titus) speak of giving thanks or the quality of thankfulness.
Think about that for a moment. The epistle to the Galatians was a corrective one aimed at some severe problems widespread in the Galatian church, so it is perhaps not surprising that Paul did not discuss the giving of thanks in that letter compared to others. But even in his epistles that don't mention thankfulness specifically, we can see that Paul's own underlying attitude of gratitude is implicit in what he says, for example, regarding the hope of eternal life (Titus 1:2), God's grace (Titus 2:11), and God's goodness, kindness, and mercy (Titus 3:4-6).
In the majority of Paul's writings, however, the expression of gratitude is a primary part of the apostle's message. His writings show him giving thanks for blessings that he and others received, as in 1 Corinthians 15:57, where we read: "But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (and see also 1 Corinthians 1:14 and 14:18).
Yet these instances are actually quite rare. If we read his epistles carefully, we see that Paul's thankfulness is primarily expressed throughout his writings not so much for things he had received, but far more often for the spiritual gifts God had bestowed in the lives of others.
Paul's Thanksgiving Was Outgoing Typically, after greeting his readers, or very soon after, Paul gives thanks. This was frequently done in the world of his day, where individuals writing to others would often give thanks to their gods for benefits and blessings they had received. But in Paul's writing, the thanksgiving is different. Instead of thanking God for blessings he has received, Paul usually gives thanks for those to whom he is writing and for blessings they have received. We already saw how Paul's prayers of petition were directed far more at others than himself, and we find the same thing in his prayers of thanks.
Look at a couple of examples of this. Paul tells the believers in Philippi: "I thank my God every time I remember you" (Philippians 1:3). Similarly, he tells the Colossians: "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you" (Colossians 1:3). Also, as we saw earlier, in his letter to the Ephesians Paul says: "… because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers" (Ephesians 1:15-16).
So Paul was clearly not just the "apostle of giving thanks," he was also the apostle who primarily gave thanks for others. In fact, when we understand that, we realize it is typical of Paul that he writes: "I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people" (1 Timothy 2:1, emphasis added). Paul's Thanksgiving Was Specific The next thing we notice about Paul's prayers of thanksgiving is that he is never vague or general in what he prays. Just as we saw in the chapter on intercessory prayer that he broke down his prayers for individuals into very specific requests, so when we look at Paul's prayers of thanks, we find the same thing.
Although he tells us that we should give thanks for "everything" (Ephesians 5:20), Paul stresses specific things for which he shows gratitude. Notice how he gives thanks for a specific gift – that of faith – in the church at Rome: "I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world" (Romans 1:8). This is actually the first thing Paul says to the believers at Rome after the introductory greeting of his epistle – his thanksgiving for this gift was evidently a top priority in his mind. And look at another example where Paul tells us explicitly that he gave thanks for a number of spiritual traits – faith, love, and hope – exhibited by those at Thessalonica:
We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3). Paul's Thanksgiving Was Ongoing As we saw in the last chapter, saying that true gratitude is ongoing doesn't just mean that we should give thanks each day – it means that we should not hesitate to continue to give thanks for things for which we have already expressed appreciation.
It is relatively easy to persist in our prayers of petition and intercession. As long as a problem continues for us or for those for whom we pray, we have a reason to continue to pray and to ask God's help. But prayers of thanksgiving are different. Humanly, blessings of the past are among the easiest things to forget – or at least not to actively think about.
Yet Paul's prayers are full of references to the ongoing giving of thanks. In 1 Corinthians 1:4, for example, he writes "I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus" – showing not only Paul's outgoing attitude of gratitude for others, but also how his thanksgiving was expressed in an ongoing manner. We saw similar scriptures above, in Colossians 1:3-5 and Ephesians 1:15 where he writes: "I do not cease to give thanks for you." This ongoing giving of thanks was unlikely to be for new reasons in each instance – it was doubtless a purely ongoing expression of heartfelt appreciation.
And ongoing thanksgiving means that we don't stop feeling or expressing gratitude when things get rough. Paul teaches that we should give thanks in every situation – whatever the circumstances:
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Paul shows us that just as we should never stop asking for God's help and blessings, we should never stop giving thanks for them.
Paul's Thanksgiving Was Joyful This last point is one which you may not have noticed in Paul's writings, but his many prayers of thanks frequently mention joy. Paul linked joy with gratitude in the verse we just read when he wrote: "Be joyful always … give thanks in all circumstances …," and we find similar thoughts often in his writing.
Perhaps there is no better example than what Paul wrote to the Colossians:
… live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way… giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light (Colossians 1:10-12, emphasis added). Just as it is possible to say "sorry" without really feeling remorse, we can also say "thank you" without really feeling gratitude. But joy is the great guardian of gratitude, and Paul expresses it well. If our prayers of thanks are full of joy, we can know that our gratitude is real, that our thanks are the kind that God wants to hear.
Lessons in Gratitude So Paul's letters provide us with a number of lessons regarding prayers of gratitude. As the "apostle of giving thanks," he not only mentions thanksgiving far more than any other New Testament writer, he also shows us more about how to give thanks. The first thing we notice is how outwardly focused Paul's thanksgiving is, and that's a major lesson we can all keep in mind. We can all ask ourselves occasionally how much of our giving thanks is focused on what we personally have to be thankful for, and how much is focused on thankfulness for God's gifts to his people – and to all people – everywhere.
Paul shows us that true and full thankfulness is gratitude for others and what they have received physically and spiritually, just as much as it is gratitude for what we ourselves have to be thankful for. The "apostle of giving thanks" shows us that thanksgiving involves prayers of thanks that reach far beyond our own lives – in specific and ongoing ways that are grounded in joy for what we and others have received.
PART SIX:
ANSWERED PRAYER