Thanksgiving Prayers and Songs

Thanksgiving Prayer

Heavenly Father, on Thanksgiving Day

We bow our hearts to You and pray.
We give You thanks for all You've done
Especially for the gift of Jesus, Your Son.


For beauty in nature, Your glory we see
For joy and health, friends and family,
For daily provision, Your mercy and care
These are the blessings You graciously share.

So today we offer this response of praise

With a promise to follow You all of our days.

--Mary Fairchild

A Thanksgiving Day Prayer

Lord, so often times, as any other day

When we sit down to our meal and pray

We hurry along and make fast the blessing

Thanks, amen. Now please pass the dressing

We're slaves to the olfactory overload

We must rush our prayer before the food gets colld

But Lord, I'd like to take a few minute more

To really give thanks to what I'm thankful for

For my family, my health, a nice soft bed

My friends, my freedom, a roof over my head

I'm thankful right now to be surrounded by those

Whose lives touch me more than they'll ever possibly know

Thankful Lord, that You've blessed me beyond measure

Thankful that in my heart lives life's greatest treasure

That You, dear Jesus, reside in that place

And I'm ever so grateful for Your unending grace

So please, heavenly Father, bless this food You've provided

And bless each and every person invited

Amen!

--Scott Wesemann

 Thanksgiving

                                                       For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food,

For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

We Gather Together

We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing;

He chastens and hastens his will to make known;

The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing,

Sing praises to his name: He forgets not his own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,

Ordaining, maintaining his kingdom divine;

So from the beginning the fight we were winning;
Thou, Lord, wast at our side, All glory be thine!

We all do extol thee, thou leader triumphant

And pray that thou still our defender wilt be.

Let thy congregation escape tribulation;

Thy name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

Amen

--Traditional Thanksgiving Hymn

(A translation by Theodore Baker: 1851-1934)

 

We Give Thanks

Our Father in Heaven,

We give thanks for the pleasure

Of gathering together for this occasion.

We give thanks for this food

Prepared by loving hands.

We give thanks for life,

The freedom to enjoy it all

And all other blessings.

As we partake of this food,

We pray for health and strength

To carry on and try to live as You would have us.

This we ask in the name of Christ,

Our Heavenly Father!

--Harry Jewell

Shared by Mary Wilkins and Corinne Mustafa