As a Christian, at the very core of your spiritual walk should be the faith that God has ransomed you from sin by grace through faith in His blood (Ephesians 2:8). You understand that, even though your sin had alienated you from the fellowship of the Lord, the mighty love of God was strong enough to break the yoke of sin from your back and set you free from its bondage (Colossians 1:21). It’s likely you are aware of many answered prayers and see countless evidences every day that God is still on the throne. You are blessed more than anyone could deserve – and you know it.

I won’t say that failure to recognize one’s blessings is never a problem, but generally it is not. On Thanksgiving none of us scratch our head and say, “Hmm…what good thing has God done for me this year?” We’re usually good at spotting the fingerprints of God in our lives; the problem is that we’ve become so accustomed to luxury that we treat God’s goodness like electric lights or running water: most of us have never lived without it, so actually taking time to magnify Him for it often seems unnecessary.

But what does it really mean to magnify God anyway? Does saying a brief, silent prayer of thanks count? I suppose to some extent it does, but truly magnifying the Lord consists of much more than a mere “thank you” is able to accomplish. Consider this excerpt from a sermon by John Piper:

“The word "magnify" can be used in two different senses. It can mean: make something appear greater than it is, as with a microscope or a magnifying glass.
Or it can mean: make something that may seem small or insignificant appear to be as great as it really is. This is what our great telescopes help us begin to do with the magnificent universe which once upon a time spilled over from the brim of God's glory. So there are two kinds of magnifying: microscope magnifying and telescope magnifying. The one makes a small thing look bigger than it is. The other makes a big thing begin to look as big as it really is.

When David says, "I will magnify God with thanksgiving," he does not mean: "I will make a small God look bigger than he is. He means: "I will make a big God begin to look as big as he really is." We are not called to be microscopes, but telescopes.”¹

So, then, your calling to magnify God is not fulfilled unless you are actively doing your part to share His glory with others. If your “magnified” version of God is still small enough to fit in your pocket, then all you’ve succeeded at is hiding Him from those who most need His love. To glorify God is to do everything within your power to make His name renowned, known by all nations and trusted by all people. As David wrote in Psalm 22:22, “I will declare Thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee.” This is the only way to truly magnify God, especially as we see the day of our Lord’s return approaching, and is the best use of time you will find. So go tell someone about the power and goodness of God. When we each do our part, not only are we being obedient to what Scripture commands us to do, but our hearts will overflow with joy as we begin to comprehend just how great our God truly is.

1 http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/i-will-magnify-god-with-thanksgiving