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"The Need for Thanksgiving"Christ has been disinvited from Christmas; Bunnies and eggs have hijacked Easter, but Thanksgiving still gets it right. I say that because its more important to thank God for blessings received than to pray for them beforehand. As the year unfolds we pray in response to what’s ahead. There’s trouble on the horizon and we instinctively appeal to God. Such prayers are expressions of dependence upon God, but they’re self-centered because we’re hoping to get something from God. We have something to gain by getting God involved in our affairs.Thanksgiving, however, is backward looking and quite free from this self-interest. Thanksgiving is gratitude for the gifts God has showered upon us; the ways he interceded for us; the care he has lavished upon us; the abundance we have taken for granted. It’s on the same wave-length as love. We love God because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). Our love for God never starts on our side; it’s always a response to his. By the same token, our thanksgivings are a humble response to God’s blessings bestowed upon us.We tend to take the gifts of God for granted. Thanksgiving, then, is an important way to make that right.