Thankful Thursday is an occasional theme on social media – religious or otherwise, people sometimes make a point of posting something online some sort of expression of thanksgiving each Thursday.  It’s a healthy way to live one’s life, and, of course, a key biblical aspect of the Christian life.

Naturally, the liturgy has a prominent place for thanksgiving.  In Morning and Evening Prayer, giving thanks is near the end of the Office, as if the culmination of the service.  The “General Thanksgiving” prayer is fantastic: it’s meaty, it’s biblical, it’s thorough, it’s even exhortative in the way it reminds us how to live thankfully.  The Communion Service also has a high place for giving thanks – the word Eucharist means “good grace” or (more loosely) “thanksgiving.”  The Communion Prayers are prefaced with thanksgiving, and the Post-Communion Prayer is also one of thanksgiving.

So maybe it’s a good idea to bring “Thankful Thursday” into your prayer life, too.  Our Prayer Book comes with a large collection of Occasional Prayers, the last section of which are thanksgivings.  Why not pull these out and add them to the Daily Office today?  This is especially wise for Evening Prayer, when you’ll have the opportunity to look back on your day and give specific thanks for the blessings of the day that is past.