"Give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever," ^{Ps. 106:1;} says the Bible. And human beings who recognize how much they owe to God for His goodness to the universe and to them individually usually do make a point of frequently expressing their gratitude to Him. They sometimes even thank Him before they have received something that they are convinced through faith He is going to give them.

From early Bible times it was recognized by the spiritually minded that gratitude to God should be more than a religious gesture, a formal expression of praise, or a courteous acknowledgment of divine favors received. The Psalmist poses a question and then answers it: "What shall I render unto the Lord for allhis benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people." ^{116: 12-14;}

Christian Science shows that the best way to thank God, divine Love, is to imbibe the inspiration of His love and make the effort to live in accord with His law, daily acknowledging and proving His all-power and all-presence. We prove that we truly understand and appreciate His goodness to us when we constantly commune with God in deep spiritual prayer—not merely in words but through honest, wholehearted faith in His love. This prayer is more than a theoretical statement. Its reliance upon the sustaining power of divine Life makes it practical. Through our surrender of human will in the acknowledgment of the supremacy of the divine Mind, and the utilization of Truth in our daily lives, good is increasingly manifested.

Christ Jesus demonstrated this wholehearted way of giving thanks to God, and the healings that followed showed how practical it can be. If we follow the Master in this way, our own gratitude becomes a prayer that will likewise be answered in the manifestation of much good in human experience.

On three of the great occasions of his ministry Jesus expressed gratitude to God when he communed with Him. Before he fed five thousand hungry people, he took the only available food—five loaves and two fishes—and gave thanks. Because the mortal evidence of inadequacy did not impress him, the Master gratefully expressed his confidence in God's ample provision for His children. As a consequence, all the people ate and were satisfied.

Before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he "lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me." ^{John 11:41;} He completely trusted that the understanding of God, eternal Life, would restore one who had humanly been pronounced dead. He displayed his trust through grateful prayer. Result: Lazarus came forth.

At the holiest of all suppers—his last with his disciples—"as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it." ^{Matt. 26:26,27;}

On this, as on the other occasions, the Master was doing more than merely expressing verbal gratitude to God. He was acknowledging with his whole heart the presence and power of divine, indestructible Life and Love. Innocent of mortal belief and human will, Jesus was able totally and thankfully to accept God's infinitely loving purpose and plan, and he left his example to posterity, urging mankind to follow it.

The word Eucharist is used in reference to the commemoration of the Master's Last Supper and his revelation and exemplification of the great truth of eternal, spiritual being. It is derived from the Greek word eucharistia, meaning "thanksgiving." This indicated the depth of the reverent gratitude that should always accompany our prayer in order to prove our sincerity. It brings us into close communion with God.

This spiritual communion, celebrated in the spirit of thanksgiving, does more than commemorate Jesus' mighty demonstration of divine power. It is an act of self-consecration to the purpose of establishing our own eternal unity with infinite good—the unity Jesus came to teach and prove. And when we have gratefully paid our "vows unto the Lord" by demonstrating our devotion to God and our oneness with Him as divine Principle and idea, Father and son, perfect Mind and perfect man, great signs will follow. Lack will become obsolete, disease will be healed. The Christ, Truth, will be with us in demonstration of eternal, divine Life, as it was with Jesus.

Truly, we pray and express our thanks to God for all His benefits in the most acceptable way when we drink of Christ's cup and eat the true bread from heaven—when we actually live the qualities of divine Being and prove our unity with God. As Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health, "If we feel the aspiration, humility, gratitude, and love which our words express,—this God accepts." ^{Science and Health, p. 8.}

Naomi Price