Thanksgiving Bible Verses: 60 Scriptures on Gratitude, Praise & Thankfulness

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name. For the LORD is good, and his faithful love endures forever; his faithfulness, through all generations. (Psalm 100:4-5, CSB)

Psalm 100 carries the title “A psalm of thanksgiving,” and its words picture worshipers walking through the gates and into the temple courts. The reason it gives for thanks is who God is, good and faithful “through all generations,” so the faithfulness your grandmother leaned on is there for you and your children this Thanksgiving.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever. (Psalm 107:1, CSB)

This line opens a psalm about lost travelers, prisoners, the sick, and sailors in a storm, and each time they cry out and are rescued, the psalm calls them to give thanks (Psalm 107:8, CSB). If God carried you through something this year, even something no one else knows about, your story belongs in this psalm too.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His faithful love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1, CSB)

Psalm 136 ends every one of its 26 verses with this same line (Psalm 136:26, CSB), and it was likely sung back and forth, with one voice naming something God had done and everyone answering together. You can borrow that rhythm at your table by letting each person name one thing and having everyone answer, “His faithful love endures forever.”

I will thank the LORD with all my heart; I will declare all your wondrous works. (Psalm 9:1, CSB)

David wrote this psalm to celebrate God defending him against his enemies, and for him, giving thanks meant telling people what God had done. This Thanksgiving, you might share one true story with your kids about a time God came through for you.

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart celebrates, and I give thanks to him with my song. (Psalm 28:7, CSB)

David begins Psalm 28 pleading with God to hear him, and by verse 7 his prayer has turned from asking to thanking. If you’re starting this season with more requests than thanks, his psalm shows that both can live in the same prayer.

You turned my lament into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, so that I can sing to you and not be silent. LORD my God, I will praise you forever. (Psalm 30:11-12, CSB)

David wrote this after God brought him through a season of sorrow, and a few verses earlier he says, “Weeping may stay overnight, but there is joy in the morning” (Psalm 30:5, CSB). If you’re still in the weeping part, you don’t have to rush to the dancing, and you can let this verse hold that hope for you.

I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. (Psalm 34:1, CSB)

David wrote Psalm 34 after a frightening time on the run, and he says the LORD “answered me and rescued me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4, CSB). Blessing God “at all times” means thanks can be part of an ordinary Tuesday as well as your holiday table.

Offer a thanksgiving sacrifice to God, and pay your vows to the Most High. (Psalm 50:14, CSB)

In Psalm 50, God reminds His people that every animal in the forest already belongs to Him (Psalm 50:10, CSB), and He asks them to bring Him thanks. The very next verse invites them to call on Him in a day of trouble (Psalm 50:15, CSB), so your thanks and your cries for help are both welcome.

Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; proclaim his deeds among the peoples. (Psalm 105:1, CSB)

Psalm 105 retells Israel’s story from Abraham to the promised land so the people would remember everything God had done (Psalm 105:5, CSB). A Thanksgiving table is a lovely place to do the same, telling the story of how God has led your family over the years.

I will offer you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the LORD. (Psalm 116:17, CSB)

The writer of Psalm 116 had felt “the ropes of death” wrapped around him (Psalm 116:3, CSB), and after God rescued him, he asked how he could ever repay Him (Psalm 116:12, CSB). His answer was simply to give thanks and keep calling on God’s name, which you can do too.

I will give you thanks with all my heart; I will sing your praise before the heavenly beings. (Psalm 138:1, CSB)

David thanks God here because “on the day I called, you answered me” (Psalm 138:3, CSB). Whole-hearted thanks grows from remembering the specific days God met you, so think of one of those days as you read this verse.

Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; play the lyre to our God, who covers the sky with clouds, prepares rain for the earth, and causes grass to grow on the hills. (Psalm 147:7-8, CSB)

Psalm 147 thanks God for the clouds, the rain, and the grass on the hills, the everyday ways He provides for every living thing. It’s a fitting verse for a harvest holiday, a reminder that every dish on your table started with rain God sent.

Give thanks to the LORD; call on his name; proclaim his deeds among the peoples. (1 Chronicles 16:8, CSB)

This is the first line of the song David gave his worshipers on the day the ark came to Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 16:7, CSB). It joins thanks with telling others what God has done, a good habit for a holiday table full of guests.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever. (1 Chronicles 16:34, CSB)

Near the end of the same song comes this refrain, the one also found in Psalm 107 and Psalm 136. When a line shows up that often in Scripture, it’s worth memorizing, because “God is good, and His love lasts forever” is true on every kind of day.

Now therefore, our God, we give you thanks and praise your glorious name. (1 Chronicles 29:13, CSB)

David prayed this after the people gave generously to build the temple, and right after it he admits that everything they gave had come from God’s hand (1 Chronicles 29:14, CSB). The food, the people, and even the strength it took to cook it all came from Him, so your thanks gives the credit where it belongs.

The trumpeters and singers joined together to praise and thank the LORD with one voice. They raised their voices, accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and musical instruments, in praise to the LORD: For he is good; his faithful love endures forever. The temple, the LORD’s temple, was filled with a cloud. (2 Chronicles 5:13, CSB)

When Solomon’s temple was finished, the singers and trumpeters thanked God together, and His glory filled the temple so fully that the priests couldn’t keep working (2 Chronicles 5:14, CSB). Many voices thanking God at once is a sweet reason to pray together before your meal.

They sang with praise and thanksgiving to the LORD: “For he is good; his faithful love to Israel endures forever.” Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD because the foundation of the LORD’s house had been laid. (Ezra 3:11, CSB)

After the exile, the people laid the new temple’s foundation and sang this song, while older people who remembered the first temple wept aloud (Ezra 3:12, CSB). Thanks and grief were heard side by side that day, which may be close to how your own table feels this year.

Then he said to them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, because the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10, CSB)

When the people wept as they heard God’s law read (Nehemiah 8:9, CSB), Nehemiah and Ezra told them to feast and to send food to anyone who had nothing prepared. Part of giving thanks is making sure someone else has a plate too, whether that’s a neighbor, a coworker who is alone, or a family that is struggling. Nehemiah’s “Do not grieve” was spoken for that feast day, and you can still bring God your tears this season.

Give thanks to the LORD; proclaim his name! Make his works known among the peoples. Declare that his name is exalted. (Isaiah 12:4, CSB)

Isaiah 12 is a song for the day God’s people would say, “Your anger has turned away, and you have comforted me” (Isaiah 12:1, CSB). Their thanks spills out into telling others, and you do the same whenever you thank God where someone else can hear.

For the LORD will comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places, and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and melodious song. (Isaiah 51:3, CSB)

God spoke this comfort over Jerusalem’s ruins, promising that its waste places would bloom like Eden. It was a promise to Zion, and it shows a God who brings songs of thanks back to empty places, which can give you hope if your year has felt like a desert.

a sound of joy and gladness, the voice of the groom and the bride, and the voice of those saying, Give thanks to the LORD of Armies, for the LORD is good; his faithful love endures forever as they bring thanksgiving sacrifices to the temple of the LORD. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as in former times, says the LORD. (Jeremiah 33:11, CSB)

Jeremiah heard this message while he was confined in the guard’s courtyard and Jerusalem was falling apart (Jeremiah 33:1, CSB). God promised Israel that weddings and thank offerings would fill the empty streets again, and that promise shows a God who isn’t finished when a season looks empty.

but as for me, I will sacrifice to you with a voice of thanksgiving. I will fulfill what I have vowed. Salvation belongs to the LORD. (Jonah 2:9, CSB)

Jonah prayed this from inside the fish (Jonah 2:1, CSB), before he was back on dry ground. You don’t have to wait until everything is resolved to thank God, because you can thank Him for being with you right in the middle of it.

Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, CSB)

Paul wrote to a young church that had welcomed the gospel “in spite of severe persecution” (1 Thessalonians 1:6, CSB). Giving thanks in everything means thanking God in every circumstance, and Paul isn’t asking you to call a diagnosis, a loss, or a betrayal good.

Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7, CSB)

Paul wrote this while he was in chains (Philippians 1:13, CSB), and he tells believers to fold thanks right into their asking, with God’s peace standing guard over their hearts. If worry tends to show up during the holidays, our prayers for anxiety pair well with this verse.

And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:15-17, CSB)

In just three verses, Paul mentions thanks three times, and he includes everything done “in word or in deed.” Washing dishes, driving to Grandma’s, and setting the table can all be done with a thankful heart.

So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude. (Colossians 2:6-7, CSB)

Paul pictures a life with Jesus as a tree with deep roots and a house built up strong, and he says it overflows with gratitude. Thankfulness grows as you stay close to Him, a little more each year.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because the news of your faith is being reported in all the world. (Romans 1:8, CSB)

Paul thanked God for the church in Rome before he had ever visited them. This is a lovely verse to pray over the people at your table, including the ones who are hard to be around.

We always thank God for all of you, making mention of you constantly in our prayers. (1 Thessalonians 1:2, CSB)

Paul remembered this church’s faith, love, and endurance every time he prayed (1 Thessalonians 1:3, CSB). Before the holiday rush, try naming one person and one thing about them you thank God for.

Indeed, everything is for your benefit so that, as grace extends through more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God. (2 Corinthians 4:15, CSB)

Paul wrote this in a chapter about being worn down on the outside while being renewed on the inside day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16-17, CSB). He pictures grace passing from person to person until thanks to God grows louder, which happens every time your gratitude spills over to someone else.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in Christ’s triumphal procession and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of him in every place. (2 Corinthians 2:14, CSB)

Paul wrote this right after admitting he had no rest in his spirit because he couldn’t find his friend Titus (2 Corinthians 2:13, CSB). His thanks breaks into the middle of a worried season, so you can thank God before every question is answered.

First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. (1 Timothy 2:1-2, CSB)

Paul asked Timothy’s church to pray and give thanks for everyone, including the leaders over them. Your Thanksgiving prayers can reach past your own table to your town, your country, and the people who make decisions that affect your family.

But one of them, seeing that he was healed, returned and, with a loud voice, gave glory to God. He fell facedown at his feet, thanking him. And he was a Samaritan. (Luke 17:15-16, CSB)

Ten men with leprosy were healed on their way to the priests (Luke 17:12-14, CSB), and only one, a Samaritan outsider, came back to thank Jesus. If you’re praying for someone who is sick, our Bible verses about healing walk with you through the waiting, and this verse invites you to go back and say thank you for prayers He has already answered.

Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks he distributed them to those who were seated—so also with the fish, as much as they wanted. (John 6:11, CSB)

A crowd of thousands was hungry, and all anyone found was a boy’s five loaves and two fish (John 6:9, CSB). Jesus gave thanks for that small amount before there was enough, so when your table or your budget feels small this year, you can still thank God for what’s in front of you.

he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. (Matthew 15:36, CSB)

Another time, Jesus fed a crowd who had stayed with Him for three days and had nothing left to eat (Matthew 15:32, CSB). He gave thanks before He broke the bread, the same way you can pause and thank God before the turkey is carved.

I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, because this was your good pleasure. (Matthew 11:25-26, CSB)

Jesus thanked the Father for showing His truth to ordinary people, the ones Jesus calls “infants,” instead of the experts. You don’t need big words to thank God, because a simple, childlike thank you is the kind Jesus celebrated.

Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 7:12, CSB)

John saw a vast crowd from every nation standing before God’s throne (Revelation 7:9, CSB), and then every angel around the throne fell facedown and sang this song with thanksgiving right in the middle of it. The thanks you whisper over a Thanksgiving meal is a small part of a song that will never end.

We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty, who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. (Revelation 11:17, CSB)

The twenty-four elders fall facedown before God and thank Him for His great power (Revelation 11:16, CSB). When you aren’t sure what to be thankful for, you can start where they did, by thanking God for being God.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15, CSB)

Paul wrote this after two chapters about Christians giving to help believers in need, giving that would overflow “in many expressions of thanks to God” (2 Corinthians 9:12, CSB). It points every good gift back to the greatest one, God’s grace in Jesus.

Hallelujah! Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever. (Psalm 106:1, CSB)

Psalm 106 goes on to tell how often God’s people failed Him (Psalm 106:6, CSB), yet it opens with thanks. His faithful love never depended on their record, and it doesn’t depend on yours either.

Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving. (Colossians 4:2, CSB)

Paul wrote this just before asking for prayer while he was in chains (Colossians 4:3, CSB). It’s a simple verse to tape by the kitchen sink as a reminder to keep talking to God through the busy days.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17, CSB)

James wrote to believers going through trials (James 1:2, CSB), reminding them that every good thing comes from a God who doesn’t change. On a place card, it points every good thing at the table back to the One who gave it.

I will thank the LORD for his righteousness; I will sing about the name of the LORD Most High. (Psalm 7:17, CSB)

David wrote Psalm 7 after a man named Cush had spoken against him, and by the last verse he has moved from fear to thanks. If someone has hurt you this season, this verse shows you can bring that hurt to God and still end up thankful.

Let’s enter his presence with thanksgiving; let’s shout triumphantly to him in song. (Psalm 95:2, CSB)

Psalm 95 opens as an invitation to worship together, and it keeps saying “let’s”: let’s shout joyfully, let’s enter, let’s worship. It’s a sweet verse to read aloud before your family eats.

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Corinthians 15:57, CSB)

Paul wrote this at the end of a long chapter about Jesus rising from the dead and death being “swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54, CSB). It’s a verse of hope for anyone facing the holidays with grief, because it thanks God for a victory Jesus already won.

My soul, bless the LORD, and do not forget all his benefits. (Psalm 103:2, CSB)

David talks to his own soul here, reminding himself not to forget God’s kindness. Thanksgiving is a good day to make a short list of the gifts from this year that you don’t want to forget.

I will praise God’s name with song and exalt him with thanksgiving. (Psalm 69:30, CSB)

Psalm 69 begins with David crying, “Save me, God, for the water has risen to my neck” (Psalm 69:1, CSB), and near the end he promises to praise God with thanksgiving. It’s a short verse with a long, hard story behind it, which is why it fits a hard year.

Therefore, through him let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. (Hebrews 13:15, CSB)

The writer calls praise a “sacrifice,” and the very next verse adds doing good and sharing (Hebrews 13:16, CSB). Saying thank you to God and sharing a plate with someone are both offerings He is pleased with.

We give thanks to you, God; we give thanks to you, for your name is near. People tell about your wondrous works. (Psalm 75:1, CSB)

This psalm thanks God because His name is near, close enough to call on at any moment. On a card or a chalkboard, it reminds whoever reads it that God is close this holiday.

Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the flocks disappear from the pen and there are no herds in the stalls, yet I will celebrate in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! (Habakkuk 3:17-18, CSB)

Habakkuk wrote this while he waited, trembling, for an invasion he knew was coming (Habakkuk 3:16, CSB). He lists everything that could fail and then writes one stubborn word, “yet,” choosing to rejoice in God without pretending the losses weren’t there.

When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house. The windows in its upstairs room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before. (Daniel 6:10, CSB)

Daniel knew the king had signed a law against praying to anyone but the king (Daniel 6:9, CSB), and he went home and gave thanks “just as he had done before.” The small thanks you offer on ordinary days become something steady you can hold when life shakes.

Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God. (Psalm 42:5, CSB)

The writer of Psalm 42 says his tears had been his food day and night (Psalm 42:3, CSB), and here he talks to his own heart. “I will still praise him” is a promise made in the dark, and you’re allowed to make it with tears in your eyes too.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. (Acts 16:25, CSB)

Paul and Silas had been beaten and locked in stocks (Acts 16:23-24, CSB), and at midnight they were praying and singing to God. Their song came before the doors opened, a picture of thanks offered in the middle of the hardest night.

But I have trusted in your faithful love; my heart will rejoice in your deliverance. I will sing to the LORD because he has treated me generously. (Psalm 13:5-6, CSB)

Psalm 13 begins with “How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?” (Psalm 13:1, CSB), and in only six verses David moves to trust and thanks. You can bring God your hardest questions and still end the prayer remembering His faithful love.

When you eat and are full, you will bless the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. (Deuteronomy 8:10, CSB)

Moses spoke these words before Israel entered the promised land, warning them not to forget God once they were full (Deuteronomy 8:11, CSB). Jewish tradition draws its blessing after meals from this verse, and you might try thanking God again after dessert this year.

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, since it is sanctified by the word of God and by prayer. (1 Timothy 4:4-5, CSB)

Paul wrote this because false teachers were telling believers to avoid certain foods (1 Timothy 4:3, CSB). You can enjoy the turkey, the stuffing, and your aunt’s famous pie as gifts from God, received with a thankful heart instead of guilt.

Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. (Acts 2:46-47, CSB)

The first believers in Jerusalem shared meals in each other’s homes and praised God together. It’s a picture of what a Thanksgiving table can be, simple food shared with people who are thankful for God and for each other.

After he said these things and had taken some bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all of them, and after he broke it, he began to eat. (Acts 27:35, CSB)

Paul did this on a ship caught in a storm, after the people on board had gone two weeks without eating (Acts 27:33-34, CSB). In front of everyone, he gave thanks and broke bread, a reminder that grace before a meal can steady a frightened room.

So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. I know that you always hear me, but because of the crowd standing here I said this, so that they may believe you sent me.” (John 11:41-42, CSB)

Jesus said this at the tomb of His friend Lazarus, moments after He had wept with the grieving family (John 11:35, CSB). Thanks and tears sat side by side, so you can bring God both the answered prayers and the ones that didn’t turn out the way you hoped.

I will give thanks to you because you have answered me and have become my salvation. (Psalm 118:21, CSB)

Psalm 118 begins and ends with “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good” (Psalm 118:1, CSB; Psalm 118:29, CSB), with a story of distress and rescue in between. Write down one prayer God answered this year and read this verse over it, and if you’re still waiting, notice that the psalm opens and closes with His faithful love.

I love the LORD because he has heard my appeal for mercy. Because he has turned his ear to me, I will call out to him as long as I live. (Psalm 116:1-2, CSB)

The writer loves God because He listened when he called for mercy. Even when an answer is slow, you can thank God that He bends down to hear you, and keep calling out to Him as long as you live.