Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to practice gratitude. It’s a time to pause and bring to mind everything that we are thankful for. But, more than that, Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to thank God as our Savior, our provider, and our helper. Here are some Thanksgiving prayers to remind ourselves of the ongoing and eternal faithfulness, provision, and blessing of God.
I wonder: what is it that you will be most thankful for this Thanksgiving? As you look around the dinner table this year, maybe your eyes will rest on your family and friends. Maybe the food you eat will remind you of the provision of God. Perhaps it will help you to be grateful for all that He provides for you on a daily basis. Or maybe the opportunity to just stop and celebrate will prompt you to be thankful for the life that God has given you.
There are so many things to be thankful for, but oftentimes the rhythms and the busyness of life hinder us from the regular routine of practicing gratitude. But gratitude is important, and Thanksgiving reminds us of how we must regularly remember to thank God for all He is and all He does. For gratitude reminds us of the goodness of God. As Psalm 100:3 says, we are to “enter His gates with thanksgiving”. In other words, we are to come to God with gratitude, remembering that every good thing comes from Him. God wants us to live from a place of thankfulness and to always hold close to our hearts a conviction of His loving care. This Thanksgiving, why not take some time to pray a prayer of thanksgiving alongside the celebrations? In the busyness of the day, the excitement of seeing friends and family, and the joy of sharing good food, remember also to take some time to thank God for all He has done and all He continues to do for you. Below, you can find a couple of guided Thanksgiving prayers that can help you do this. Select one or both of these prayers, and this Thanksgiving, simply read through them, focusing your attention on God and bringing to Him your honest gratitude.
Jesus, I thank You for this holiday and for the opportunity it brings to reflect on all I have to be thankful for.As I take time to pause and reflect on these things, I pray that You would help to position my heart so that I may have a posture of gratitude. May I find things to be grateful for in the small moments of each day. And may I find reasons to be thankful for the people in my life.Lord, let me remember all that You have done for me and all that You have given me. Let Your praise always be on my lips, O God. Let my heart sing for joy at the work of Your hands.And let my soul find gladness in each one of Your blessings.God, I pray that this Thanksgiving You would teach me to rejoice in You. I pray that You would teach me to remember Your gifts, and to rest in Your love.Amen
Jesus, I thank you for the gift of Thanksgiving and for the time it gives me to reflect in thankfulness, respond in gratitude and reset with time off.As this holiday comes around, I pray that You would open my eyes to the many blessings You have given me. Would You show me how to look at my life with gratitude.Teach me to be thankful for the community You have given me. Thank You for my family, friends and those who have stood beside me through life’s ups and downs. I pray that, just as they have been a blessing to my life, You would help me to be a blessing to theirs.I thank You for the opportunities You have provided me with. In my faith, in my relationships and even my passions. Let me remember the ways You have helped me grow over the last year and help me to look back with gratitude. I thank You for the promise of health and healing that you give me. Even though sometimes I may feel weak physically, I know that in You I find my strength. I thank you for Your peace, O Lord. Even though fear and anxiety may come my way, I thank You that You are always there to comfort me. Thank You that You promise to always shield me with Your loving arms. I thank You, Jesus, that I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Help me to carry this thankfulness with me each day. Help me to remember that in You I am blessed. And help me to remember that with You I have all I need. Because of You I have a reason to praise. Amen
It may be that, having prayed through these prayers of thanksgiving, you wish to spend some time simply thanking God in your own language. Doing this can help you personalize your Thanksgiving. It allows you to bring to God the specific things for which you are most grateful. There are a few practical things you can do to help with this. One is to take a piece of paper and write a list of all the specific things in your life that you are thankful for. Then take some time to pray to God, focusing on each item you have written on the paper. If you would like to explore some more guided prayers this Thanksgiving, head to the Glorify App, where you can find some curated content to help you develop your prayer life.
Download Glorify Today
