Prayer Ideas for Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving Day
Once the table is set with your finest china, the turkey is out of the oven, and everyone is gathered around the table, there's one last thing to do before you enjoy your Thanksgiving meal. Give thanks for the bounty and friends and family with these meaningful Thanksgiving prayers that embody what the holiday is truly about.
A Thanksgiving Day Prayer
O Lord, with humble hearts we pray
thy blessing this Thanksgiving Day
and ask that at table place,
where grateful folk say words of grace,
that Thou will come to share the yield
thy bounty gave to farm and field.
We pray thy love will bless, O Lord,
each hearth, each home, each festive board;
and that Thy peace will come to stay
where candles glow, Thanksgiving Day.
—Brian F. King
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
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
—Matthew 6:9-13
Father, We Thank Thee
For flowers that bloom about our feet,
Father, we thank Thee.
For tender grass so fresh, so sweet,
Father, we thank Thee.
For the song of bird and hum of bee,
for all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee.
For blue of stream and blue of sky,
Father, we thank Thee.
For pleasant shade of branches high,
Father, we thank Thee.
For fragrant air and cooling breeze,
for beauty of the blooming trees,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee.
For this new morning with its light,
Father, we thank Thee.
For rest and shelter of the night,
Father, we thank Thee
For health and food, for love and friends,
for everything Thy goodness sends,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
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A Thanksgiving Prayer
Oh, God, when I have food
help me to remember the hungry;
when I have work, help me
to remember the jobless;
when I have a warm home,
help me to remember the homeless;
when I am without pain,
help me to remember those who suffer;
and remembering, help me
to destroy my complacency
and bestir my compassion.
Make me concerned enough
to help, by word and deed,
those who cry out
for what we take for granted.
—Samuel F. Pugh
Be Present
Be present at our table, Lord.
Be here and everywhere adored.
Thy creatures bless and grant that we may feast in paradise with Thee.
—John Cennick
Thanksgiving Blessing
O God, we thank you for this earth, our home;
for the wide sky and the blessed sun,
for the salt sea and the running water,
for the everlasting hills
and the never-resting winds,
for trees and the common grass underfoot.
We thank you for our senses
by which we hear the songs of birds,
and see the splendor of the summer fields,
and taste of the autumn fruits,
and rejoice in the feel of the snow,
and smell the breath of the spring.
Grant us a heart wide open to all this beauty;
and save our souls from being so blind
that we pass unseeing
when even the common thornbush
is aflame with your glory,
O God our creator,
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
—Walter Rauschenbusch
Thanksgiving Dinner 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
Abundant Blessing
We thank you for the turkey, the gravy, and the dressing.
Dear Lord, this table overflows with Thy abundant blessing.
Let us always be aware that all gifts come from You,
and may we serve Your heavenly will in everything we do. Amen.
— Joanna Fuchs
Table Blessing
Thank You, God, for the food we are about to eat,
for those who are here to share these blessings,
for the generosity of our hosts that make this possible.
Bless those who are here and those who are in our hearts,
and all those who are not as fortunate on this day. Amen.
— Patricia Gore
A Prayer of Gratitude
Let us therefore proclaim our gratitude to Providence for manifold blessings —
let us be humbly thankful for inherited ideals —
and let us resolve to share those blessings
and those ideals with our fellow human beings throughout the world.
On that (this) day let us gather in sanctuaries dedicated to worship
and in homes blessed by family affection to express our gratitude for the glorious gifts of God;
and let us earnestly and humbly pray that He will continue to guide and sustain us in the great unfinished tasks of achieving peace, justice, and understanding among all men and nations and of ending misery and suffering wherever they exist.
— President John F. Kennedy
Bountiful Provisions
Father, we thank you for your abundant mercy and grace toward us.
We honor you this day as we gather together in a family full of gratitude.
We thank you for this meal and the hands that prepared it.
We thank you for your bountiful provisions.
We ask that you equip and encourage us to serve others who are in need.
May we be good stewards of your creation and of all our talents and blessings.
We proclaim glory and honor to you.
In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
— Madge P. Williams
Nothing to Fear
We thank you, Lord, for food and friends,
and for all of the joy this holiday lends.
It's Thanksgiving Day and we can see the blessings you've provided our family.
Thanks to you, Lord, for another good year;
When you watch over us, there's nothing to fear.
— Karl Fuchs
Rest and Shelter
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
He Is Good
Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
Serve the LORD with gladness:
come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the LORD he is God:
it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
and into his courts with praise:
be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the LORD is good;
his mercy is everlasting;
and his truth endureth to all generations.
– Psalm 100
