"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever... Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever." - Psalm 136:1-3, 26 (NIV)

Once upon a time when I was much younger, I coached my son's soccer team. Our team wasn't the best team in the league, but we got better as the season progressed. The reason we got better is due to practice. We drilled and drilled and drilled. The boys wanted to scrimmage all the time, but because practicing the basics improves one's game, we drilled.

There are certain basics in the spiritual life and the only way we will ever improve on them is through practice. Psalm 136 is a spiritual drill to improve the ability of thanksgiving. God's love endures through every event of life; therefore every day should be filled with thanksgiving to the Lord. The more often we give thanks, the stronger our attitude of gratitude grows.

Drills are rarely fun, but they will eventually make good players. Take a lesson from this Psalm and make a list of the Lord's blessings and provisions in your life. After every item repeat such words as His love endures forever and give thanks. Include this in your daily devotional time and you will begin to see a great improvement in your ability of thanksgiving. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.