If you searched for Bible verses about gratitude in the King James Version, this page gives you fifteen passages from the KJV, grouped by the moments when thankfulness is hardest to find. It is written for anyone who wants to read Scripture on gratitude and know what to do with it. These verses share one conviction: gratitude is a response to who God is and what He has done, not a feeling we must manufacture before we are allowed to give thanks.
Verses for Giving Thanks at the Start of the Day
Mornings often arrive with a list of demands before we have said a word of thanks. The passages in this group invite you to begin with God before the day begins with you. Each one points to His mercy as something renewed, not something earned.
Psalm 118:24
This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
(KJV)
The psalmist calls the day itself a gift from the Lord. Try saying this verse aloud while the coffee brews, naming one ordinary thing in the coming hours that you can receive with thanks, even if it is only a quiet commute.
Lamentations 3:22-23
22 It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
(KJV)
Lamentations is a book of grief, yet in its center stands a sentence about mercies that are new each morning. When yesterday went badly, this passage lets you begin again. Write the phrase “new every morning” on a sticky note and place it where you will see it at breakfast.
Psalm 92:1-2
1 It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD , and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: 2 To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night…
(KJV)
The psalm pairs thanks in the morning with praise at night, making gratitude a rhythm rather than an occasional event. Consider building one short thanksgiving into your morning routine, speaking it before you check your phone.
Psalm 100:4
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
(KJV)
This verse describes entering God’s courts with thanksgiving as a kind of doorway. If your heart feels far from thankful, you can walk through that doorway by beginning with words of gratitude rather than waiting for the feeling to arrive first.
Verses for Gratitude When Circumstances Are Hard
Gratitude is not the denial of pain. The passages here were written by people facing danger, loss, and uncertainty, and they still gave thanks. They show that thankfulness can sit alongside honest sorrow.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
(KJV)
Paul ties thanksgiving to the will of God for believers in Christ Jesus, and he does not limit it to pleasant circumstances. When a situation is painful, you might ask God to show you one thing within His purposes that you can thank Him for today.
Philippians 4:6-7
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
(KJV)
Paul instructs the church to bring every anxious request to God with thanksgiving, and promises a peace that guards the heart. Before you pray your worry list, try naming three things you are grateful for first, and notice how the order changes the prayer.
Habakkuk 3:17-18
17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: 18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD , I will joy in the God of my salvation.
(KJV)
Habakkuk describes a season of total loss, yet he resolves to rejoice in the Lord. This passage is useful when nothing around you seems to be going well. Write the words “yet I will rejoice” in your journal as a deliberate act of trust.
Psalm 34:1
I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
(KJV)
David composed this psalm after a time of real danger, and he chose to bless the Lord continually. Consider making this verse your prayer during a difficult week, returning to it each time worry tries to crowd out your praise.
Verses That Lead Gratitude Into Praise
These passages move from thanks for specific gifts toward worship of the One who gives them. They remind you that gratitude is a relationship, not a transaction, and that God Himself is the greatest reason to be thankful.
Psalm 107:1
O give thanks unto the LORD , for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
(KJV)
This verse gives a simple reason for thanks: the Lord is good, and His mercy endures. When you are tempted to list only what is missing, return to this sentence and let God’s character set the tone for your prayers.
James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
(KJV)
James traces every good gift back to the Father of lights, who does not change. Use this verse to examine a single blessing today, asking where it came from and thanking the giver by name.
Colossians 3:15-17
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
(KJV)
Paul connects peace, the word of Christ, and thankfulness in one passage, urging believers to be thankful in whatever they do. Try completing one task today, from washing dishes to answering email, as an act offered with thanks to the Lord.
Psalm 136:1
O give thanks unto the LORD ; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
(KJV)
The refrain of this psalm repeats the same reason for thanks, His mercy endures forever, through many examples. You might read the psalm slowly, pausing after each refrain to name one mercy from your own life that fits the pattern.
Revelation 4:11
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
(KJV)
Heaven’s elders cast their crowns before the throne and give honor to the Creator. Let this verse widen your view of gratitude, reminding you that thanks is ultimately owed to the One who made all things and sustains them.
How to Use These Verses
Choose two or three verses from this list and copy them by hand into a notebook or onto index cards. Handwriting slows the reading and helps the words settle in memory. Keep the cards in a place you already visit, such as your car visor, your bathroom mirror, or beside your Bible, so that gratitude has a chance to interrupt your routine.
When you pray with these passages, read the verse once, then answer it in your own words. Thank God for the specific gift the verse suggests, and then thank Him for who He is. If you are discouraged, begin with a passage from the hard circumstances group and let the Lord meet you where you actually are, not where you think you should be.
A Short Prayer for Gratitude
Lord, I come to You with thanks I do not always feel. Thank You for the new mercies that meet me each morning, and for the faithfulness that carried me through yesterday. Forgive me when I count only what is missing and overlook what You have given. Teach me to receive each good gift as coming from Your hand. Let my gratitude turn into praise, and let my praise reach the people around me. Amen.
