If you are curious about different religions, then it would be valuable for you to know the difference between praise and thanksgiving. People all over the world entail in diverse ways of worshipping and praying their religious leaders. As an extension to the worshipping and praying, people who believe in God praise Him and give thanks to Him for everything He had done to the mankind. Praising and giving thanks to the God may seem similar, yet there is a considerable expanse of difference. The difference between praise and thanksgiving lies in the things that we thank or praise for. This article explores what is meant by praise and thanksgiving and the difference between praise and thanksgiving. To begin with, both praise and thanksgiving require faith.
What does Praise mean?
Praise is the act of complimenting God for what he truly is and for his virtues. When you praise God, it is because you are acknowledging his perfections, works, benefits, and excellence. Also, you praise God for who he is, his attributes, excellence, and the things he had done apart from what he had done for us. Singing songs, saying hymns and prayers could be ways of praising the God. Also, you can find a number of psalms on the importance of praising and how you can praise the God. Ex: Psalm 103:1-5 (NKJV). Ultimately, learning to praise the God activates the fullness He has for you.
What does Thanksgiving mean?
On the other hand, thanksgiving is much more different to praise. Thanksgiving is to ‘give thanks’ or simply to ‘thank’ God not for what he is, but for what he has done for you. You are thanking the God for the specific gifts and blessings he has bestowed upon you all through your life. You could thank the God for providing you food, giving you a nice home and a family, for giving you a job when you were looking for one, saving your/one of your family members’ life from some danger, etc. Gratitude you have inside you is the core of your thanksgiving.
What is the difference between Praise and Thanksgiving?
• Praise is to compliment and admire God for all his virtues and for what he is. Thanksgiving is to express thanks and gratitude for God for the things that he has done for you and provided you.
• Praise is more than words; it could be done in the form of singing that is the most popular way of praising the God, or by hymns, etc. Thanksgiving is merely done by words showing gratitude.
• Thanksgiving is rooted in the gratitude one has for God for the things he has been given by God, but praise comes not from gratitude, but from insight of who the God really is.
Having read what praise and thanksgiving mean and the differences between praise and thanksgiving, it is comprehensible that they could be distinctly different. At the same time, it is obvious that they are closely related and are interconnected as well. One who praises God thanks him too.
Further Reading:
- Difference Between Praise and Worship