A Thanksgiving Prayer

Lord of All,

You are the Source and Sustainer and Sovereign and Redeemer of all things.

We give You thanks as our Creator for all the great works of Your hand. We thank You for this world You have spoken in all its splendor. You formed the earth and the heavens, unrolling the fields and hills and spreading the starry expanse. You fixed the sun in the sky, and by Your power it gives us warmth and light. You water and grow the crops of the harvest. You breathe the breath into our lungs and pour out the life that pumps through our veins. For these and a thousand blessings besides…

People: Lord, we give You thanks.

We give You thanks also for the little beauties of Your creation we enjoy each day. We thank You for the warmth of our beds in the morning. We thank You for the shelter of our homes at night. We thank You for the playing of children, the company of friends, the sustenance and pleasure of food and drink. We thank You for the heart-joining power of human affection, the rambunctious joy of language, the soul-nourishing gift of touch and each moment of laughter that scatters the shadows away. For these and a thousand blessings besides…

People: Lord, we give You thanks.

Just as You have created all things, so You are redeeming them, and we thank You for this work as well. You have not dealt with us as our sins deserve but have showed us grace upon grace in Your Son Jesus Christ. In His death He has paid the full penalty for our sins. In His resurrection He has broken the power of the devil. Because He reigns, we can stand against the evils of our flesh and this world and death itself, knowing that life will have the final word. Because He will return, we can celebrate the hope that the beauties of this age are but a ghostly foreshadowing of the Spirit-saturated, earthy richness of the world to come. For these and a thousand blessings besides…

People: Lord, we give You thanks.

You have given us all these things, and greatest of all You have given us Yourself. You have united us with Christ so that we might even now experience the joy of adoption as sons and daughters of the living God. You have poured Your Spirit into our hearts, sealing us in the hope of our salvation and ministering to us in our moments of need. You are before and behind us, around and within us, inviting us in our frail humanity to join in the loving communion of Father, Son and Spirit. We will dwell with You forever, our steps lit by the glorious light of Your presence. Lord, for all of these and a thousand blessings besides…

People: Lord, we give You thanks.

May our hearts ever find delight in You, our tongues ever sing praise to You, and our lives ever be for You, source of all that is good and beautiful and true.

AMEN