A lot of Christian writers will tell you to remember to pray to God when times are tough. That’s important, of course – after all, He can get us through anything. But what about when things are going well? Is it still important to pray to God then?

Surprise, surprise: the answer is unequivocally yes.

The examples are plentiful. Almost every author of every book of the Bible thanks and prays to God during both seasons of challenge and seasons of success. More contemporarily, professional athletes – like NBA superstar Stephen Curry – are also great examples. For many of them, during interviews with reporters after they win a big match or have a great individual performance, they’ll chalk up their success to two things: their teammates and God.

It’s that last one that’s especially important. They don’t credit themselves – even though they’re obviously tremendously gifted to not only compete, but succeed, at the level they’re at – but the Lord.

The reason all of these people take the time to thank God for their successes is simple: they would not be where they are or do the things they have done without Him – as is the case with all of us. We need to thank God for the good things that happen in our lives because He allowed those things to happen – and has also gotten us through, and will get us through, the times when we face challenges.

By thanking God, it also helps us to stay humble. After all, we all know what can happen to people who become arrogant; plus, no-one likes someone who is full of themselves and thinks they’re the greatest thing since sliced bread. Our success in anything is first and foremost thanks to God.

A perfect example of this comes from the Old Testament. It was, of course, thanks to God that David became king. But as we learn in 1 Samuel, David became arrogant, and eventually was chased by his son Saul and his army as they tried to kill him, forcing David to literally run for his life even though he was the king. Among other things, David had let his success go to his head.

Don’t be like David. Thank God to stay humble. Because it’s through Him we’re able to do amazing things. Including the most amazing thing of all: eternal life through believing in Jesus Christ and repenting of our sins.