A Prayer for Thanksgiving Day
Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods
Psalm 95: 2-3
Father in Heaven,
We have once again come to the holiday season, beginning with Thanksgiving Day. As I get older, I find that it is incredible how fast time flies. And I’ve been told by many that life will just continue to move faster and faster! Help me to live each day for You and enjoy each day, not always looking to what is next.
For some, Thanksgiving Day is all about a few days off of work, eating turkey, watching football and getting ready to shop for “Black Friday” deals.
Just thinking about all of the work to prepare a large meal, and the idea of all of the responsibilities and activities of the Christmas season ahead can be quite overwhelming. Help us Father to focus on those things that are most important, and not get pulled into all that the world expects of us during this time of year.
For some, there will be the joy of hugging and catching up with beloved family members that we only get to see a few times a year. We pray for great celebrations as we share stories of what You are doing in our lives.
For others, however, thinking of seeing family members may be stirring up feelings of anxiety because of past hurts and pain. We pray for renewed and healed relationships that only You can facilitate.
And yet for others, Thanksgiving may be a sad and lonely day because loved ones are gone and the day will be spent by yourself. We pray that others will come alongside them and invite them into their homes.
We acknowledge Father, that for some of us, the holidays are the best time of the year, and yet for others they are the absolute worst, and we can’t wait for them to be over. We pray for those for whom Thanksgiving and the Christmas season will be sad and lonely, and ask that You would provide divine opportunities for us to bless others during this time of the year.
For Christians, we know that we have much to be thankful for. At the top of that list is the gift of Your Son, who You sent to save us. May we use this season to prepare our hearts to celebrate his birth.
We are thankful for all that you have blessed us with, including our families and friends, health, jobs and homes.
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
Psalm 9:1
Thank you, Father, for all that You have blessed us with. We pray for safe travels for the many who will be traveling to see family over the coming days.
In Jesus’ precious name we pray, Amen.
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Colossians 3:17
Bill Pence is a St. Louis Cardinals fan, formerly a manager at a Fortune 50 organization, and in leadership at his local church. His life-long passion is to help people develop and use their strengths to their fullest potential. Bill is married to his best friend Tammy, a graduate of Covenant Seminary. Both have written a book. Bill’s book is, Called to Lead: Living and Leading for Jesus in the workplace. Tammy’s book is, Study, Savor and Share Scripture: Becoming What We Behold are available in paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon. To discover more about Bill please visit his website.
Feature Photo by Wallpaper Cave
Thank you for this prayer, and as I think on this day, where should true thanksgiving come from.
Thankfulness comes from a heart filled with gratitude and remembering that everything comes from God.
We need to acknowledge that everything we have is God’s and not ours. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.” When we do this, it reminds us that it’s a privilege that God has loaned us everything we have.
“What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” (1 Corinthians 4:7b)
Everything we have is on loan from God. Therefore, let’s thank Him.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James 1:17)
Thank you for again, Take care and God bless