November is traditionally a month where many people focus on giving thanks. These Bible verses for November will help us focus on having a heart of gratitude towards God and for His many blessings.
Whether it is November or not, it is always a great time to cultivate a heart of gratitude. Focusing on what the Word of God has to say about thanksgiving, praise, and gratitude is a wonderful way to do that.
We’ll also be looking at examples of gratitude in the Bible, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Don’t miss the free Bible reading plan printable for November, which includes many scriptures from this article, plus several more!
Powerful Bible Verses for November about Gratitude
“What if you woke up this morning and had only the things you thanked God for yesterday?” – Max Lucado
This quote attributed to Max Lucado can help us consider just how grateful we are. Thankfully for us, God is far more gracious than withholding His previous blessings that we didn’t thank Him for yesterday. But it is an interesting exercise in being thankful.
It is so important to have a thankful and grateful heart before the Lord. These Bible Verses for November highlight why and show us how to have a heart of gratitude.
Why Gratitude Matters
Being thankful to God is the right response to His work in our lives, starting with salvation! We can be eternally grateful for His grace and mercy demonstrated in the Gospel.
His additional everyday and extraordinary blessings are constant reminders to be thankful. We don’t deserve any of His blessings.
But did you know that gratitude can improve your mental health? The National Alliance on Mental Illness California informs us that research done on being thankful can shape an optimistic outlook, with less stress and depression and more happiness.
Just counting our blessings can make us happier! It takes our mind off of our circumstances and focuses us on God’s provision and care. It reminds us during our present concerns that God took care of what worried us in the past. He can handle what faces us today.
Let’s take a look at what the Bible has to say about giving thanks.
1 Thessalonians 5:18: “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you.”
This scripture feels simple – “in everything give thanks” – yet can be so difficult to follow during difficult times.
“But Lord,” we might say, “I don’t want to give thanks for THAT.” Fill in the blank with whatever circumstance or past event comes to mind.
Yet it is the Lord’s will that we be thankful. So we should obey that. What good can come out of being thankful for a hard circumstance?
Often, God is using a hard circumstance to shape us into who He wants us to be. We can be thankful for the endurance and perseverance that trials produce in us (Romans 5:3-5).
Also, God can use our thankfulness to show us how He is seeing us through this difficult time. He reminds us of the small and big ways that He is supporting us and providing for us.
He can also use our thankfulness to reshape our thoughts and outlook. In a world of 24-hour bad news, and headlines filled with the next new evil that faces us, we can get overwhelmed. Being thankful can redirect our thoughts to our mighty and majestic God.
Even with all of those good reasons, it can be difficult to muster up our thanksgiving. Jill Briscoe speaks of this in her article on a sacrifice of praise.
”When you can’t praise God for what He has allowed, you praise Him for Who He is despite what He has allowed.” – Jill Briscoe
No matter what we face, God deserves our praise and thanksgiving.
Just like the Old Testament followers of God gave burnt offerings that cost them, sometimes we offer up our sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving that cost us a fraction of our will for our lives and our idea of how things should be.
We should always be thankful for who our Lord God Almighty is, but we can especially take comfort and give thanksgiving and praise for His attributes during difficult times.
Hebrews 13:15 ESV “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.”
The earlier context in Hebrews 13 references the earlier burnt offerings that were made prior to Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice for us on the cross. It reminds us that this earth is not our home. Therefore, we should offer our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to God.
Psalm 50:14 ESV “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High.”
While burnt offerings were required of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, we are reminded that they were not needed to feed God or provide for Him. This was most likely in stark contrast to the offerings given to man made idols that could be popular among the people.
Instead, God wants their hearts, a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Him. He tells them to call out for His deliverance (v.15).
Being thankful can take our mind off of what we have accomplished and see how God has provided what we need at the right time.
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Cultivating Gratitude in Everyday Life
So what does gratitude look like in our everyday life? Take a look at these Bible verses about thankfulness and gratitude.
Make a Joyful Noise
God loves to hear us make a joyful noise in praise and thanksgiving and praise to Him!
We may offer Him our praise in a loud and lovely song – this may be what we picture when we hear the phrase, “make a joyful noise.”
But He also loves our quiet and off-key praise. He cherishes the silent praise of the persecuted Christians who worship in secret.
Whatever form our praise and thanksgiving takes, we bring it to our worthy God.
Psalm 95:2-3 WEBBE “Let’s come before his presence with thanksgiving. Let’s extol him with songs! For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods.”
God is worthy of our thanksgiving in both spoken word and in song! Whether it is singing along at church, praising Him as you listen to a worship playlist, or worshiping by yourself at home, He hears our praises.
Psalm 103:1-2 WEBBE “Praise the LORD, my soul! All that is within me, praise his holy name! Praise the LORD, my soul, and don’t forget all his benefits.”
Our soul has a need to praise the Lord. We were made to worship Him, and to remember all He has done for us.
Praise Him in Prayer
Having daily devotions can be a great time for Bible study and prayer. Praise God for who He is during your prayer time.
Colossians 4:2 “Continue steadfastly in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving.”
This verse encourages us to keep praying with thanksgiving. We bring our needs in prayer to God, but also our thanksgiving.
Psalm 100:4 “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, and bless his name.
This is a great reminder for us to approach God with our grateful heart. He has given us every blessing we have.
Practice Thankful Habits
Psalm 145:10 WEBBE “All your works will give thanks to you, LORD. Your saints will extol you.”
Having gratitude for God’s attributes and works is the least we can do as children of God. We should extol (praise) Him on a regular basis.
Since we know that God deserves our praise for who He is and our thanks for what He has done, we should work on habits that nurture our thankfulness.
One helpful way is to read through our free printable Heart of Gratitude Bible reading plan. We will share a link at the end of this post.
Other ideas for building a habit of gratitude include:
- Making a prayer board
- Putting up a gratitude wall or bulletin board (this leaf and tree set could be nice for autumn)
- Using a thankfulness journal
- Incorporating thankfulness into group prayer time with friends and family.
Bible Verses of Thanksgiving and Praise
As we thank God for who He is, we can look at these scriptures for inspiration in our thanksgiving.
Isaiah 12:4 WEBBE “In that day you will say, ‘Give thanks to the LORD! Call on his name! Declare his doings amongst the peoples! Proclaim that his name is exalted!’”
Isaiah 11 spoke ultimately of salvation through Jesus. When that would be fulfilled, all would give thanks to the Lord, call on God’s name, tell of HIs wonderful deeds, and proclaim the holy name of God.
These are all things we can do now in our everyday life! We can thank Him, call on Him, tell others about Him, and proclaim HIm.
James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow.”
When we consider the good gifts we have in our lives, we often think of how hard we have worked for them, or how we deserve them. But we must remember that every good and perfect gift is from our eternal and unchanging God.
1 Chronicles 16:34 WEBBE “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.”
Well known among selections of thanksgiving Bible verses, 1 Chronicles 16:34 reminds us that we can thank God for His everlasting loving kindness.
God is so kind and compassionate to us each day. He is a shield about us (Psalm 3:3). He loves us with a steadfast love, with new mercies each morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). He blesses those who take refuge in Him (Psalm 2:12).
Thank God each day for His loving kindness!
Biblical Examples of Gratitude
We see several people in the Bible giving thanks, and we can learn from their examples.
Jesus Christ. Jesus prayed often, and for long periods of time, even though He was fully God. He gave thanks to God in those prayers. We see it recorded at the last supper, when He sets our example for communion with the bread and wine. (Luke 22:14-21)
One out of Ten Lepers. Jesus healed ten lepers, but only one returned to give thanks.
Luke 17:15-16 “One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice. He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan.”
The one who turned back to give thanks was a Samaritan, an outsider in the community. Jesus’ response to this took that fact into account.
Luke 17:17-18 “Jesus answered, ‘Weren’t the ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?’”
Jesus was not insulting this man. He was commenting on the fact that the other nine, who were most likely Jewish people like Him, did not return to give thanks to Him. It was the stranger who gave thanks to Jesus.
The Apostle Paul. Paul had many reasons to boast, as he listed out in 2 Corinthians 12. Yet he also dealt with a thorn in his flesh, some sort of problem that interfered with his ministry. Matthew Henry comments:
“We are much in the dark what this was, whether some great trouble or some great temptation. Some think it was an acute bodily pain or sickness; others think it was the indignities done him by the false apostles, and the opposition he met with from them, particularly on the account of his speech, which was contemptible.” – Matthew Henry
Yet, even in that, Paul wrote:
2 Corinthians 12:10 “Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, and in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong.”
His thankful and joyful attitude about the problems that faced him set an example for both early Christians and modern Christians alike. We can be thankful even when we are weak, for we find our strength in Christ.
Jonah. Jonah prayed to God as he was in the belly of the great fish, vowing that he would sacrifice to the Lord if he was delivered from his present circumstances.
Jonah 2:9 WEBBE “But I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay that which I have vowed. Salvation belongs to the LORD.”
Even though Jonah has a complicated story, of being disobedient, judgmental, and petty, we can still learn from his example. We are often those things, too.
Jonah cried out to God for deliverance, saying that he would give God thanks, as he should. Thankfulness is the right response to God’s deliverance.
Daniel. Daniel was in trouble. The king was angry if one of the wise men could not tell him the meaning of his dream. Daniel prayed with his companions and God answered their prayers. This was Daniel’s response.
Daniel 2:23 “I thank you and praise you, O God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we desired of you; for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”
So many times, God answers our prayers as we have asked Him to. And we do not always show our gratitude to Him for these answered prayers. Remember to have a grateful heart for answered prayers.
Free Printables to Help You Create a Habit of Gratitude
We have a free printable Bible reading plan that focuses on the theme of having a heart of gratitude. We offer it for the month of November, but also have left off the month off on one of the pages to make it easier to use other months.
You can pick it up here for free in our Gumroad store.
It also includes questions for Bible Study and reflection. The questions include:
- Where do good gifts come from? (James 1:17)?
- Why can we be thankful for weaknesses and trials? (2 Corinthians 12:10)
- How should we enter God’s presence? (Psalm 100:4)
- Write a prayer of thankfulness to the Lord.
Here are free printables from other websites you can pick up to help you cultivate gratitude.
- Shelley Angelaar’s Giving Thanks Scripture Writing Plan
- Susan Davis’ Thankful and Content Reading Plan
- Raise Your Sword’s Gracious Generosity Reading Plan
Whether you are trying to cultivate a habit of gratitude, or you are preparing as we head towards the holiday of Thanksgiving in the United States, it’s always a good time to concentrate on thanksgiving to God for who He is and what He has done.
These thanksgiving scriptures are a great way to focus your heart and mind on God, and not ourselves.
Here is a prayer you can use to inspire your own prayer as you ask God to cultivate a heart of gratitude in you.
Dear Lord,
We are so thankful for your sweet mercy and steadfast love in our lives.
We praise Your glorious name, and thank You for what You have done in our lives.
Thank You for the great power we see throughout our lives. You are mighty and strong!
Create in us grateful and thankful hearts. May our thanksgiving bless and honor You.
In the name of Christ Jesus,
Amen.
Thanks for reading Bible Verses for November! If you liked this, you may also want to read Prayers for November and Thanksgiving Bible Verses.
