The Science of Gratitude

Give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind. - Psalm 107:8
Give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind. - Psalm 107:15
Give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind. - Psalm 107:21
Give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind. - Psalm 107:31

There’s a certain rhythm to a number of the Psalms and even the prayers in the New Testament - many of them center around thanksgiving. Perhaps Yahweh was onto something in these repeated invitations to be grateful.

Moderns psychology has started to study gratitude with real interest. In part, it’s a very cheap way to generate health results! What the findings show are pretty remarkable, even for basic practices like spending 5 minutes a day writing in a gratitude journal. HERE is a non-technical article that summarizes 31 different studies around the emotional, physical, and social benefits of giving thanks.

The real question isn’t your head knowledge about giving thanks. Just about everyone knows it’s beneficial to do. the real questions is will you do it? Take some time and think through what sort of gratitude practice you could actually follow for the rest of this week. Consider one of these or make up your own that seems more fitting:

• Get a journal (or use a phone app) and write down 5 things you are grateful for at the end of your day.

• At bedtime, share with your roommates/partner/kids at the end of each day 3 things you are grateful for.

• Over dinner, raise a glass and give toasts to God for the good things in your life that day.

• Over dinner, give one person the “blessing plate” and at the end of the meal everyone else say something kind about that person.

• Take a walk around the block every morning spending the time naming the things for which you are thankful.