Thanksgiving Day Prayers
People in the United States celebrate Thanksgiving to remember the feast that was first held in 1621 between the pilgrims and the Indian tribe the Wampanoag. The reason that we say a prayer before our Thanksgiving feast is that we are showing our thanks to God for everything that we have at the end of the harvest season.
Here are some examples of Thanksgiving Day Prayers that your family can recite on Thanksgiving.
Prayer One: Family Thanksgiving Day Prayer
I give thanks for my family
I give thanks for my family; Father, Mother,
And all the happy things we do together;
For understanding, laughter, and for love
Strong and warm in any kind of weather.
Prayer Two: Father All-powerful Prayer for the Thanksgiving
Father All-powerful, your gifts of love are countless and your goodness infinite. On Thanksgiving Day we come before you with gratitude for your kindness: open our hearts to concern for our fellow men and women, so that we may share your gifts in loving service.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Prayer Three: On This Day of Thanksgiving Prayer
On this Day of Thanksgiving may God rest your heart and mind, may he Bless and keep you and your family, and may He continue to extend His blessings upon our great nation, guiding us one and all by His Word. May He impress upon us the spirit of our forefathers, their soul-deep craving for freedom, expressed with courage and wisdom, as we meet the particular challenges of our days.
And let is always approach our Heavenly Father with true thankfulness not just toady, but every day, not only in our triumphs, but also in our trials by acknowledging our utter dependence on Him to supply our wants and needs, for in Him we live and move and have our being. Even self-reliance, at its root, reliance on Him.
Prayer Four: Act of Thanksgiving for Blessings of the Past Year
O God, the beginning and the end of all things, Who art always the same, and Whose years fail not, we now, at the close of another year, kneel in adoration before Thee, and offer Thee our deepest thanks for the fatherly care with which Thou has watched over us during the past, for the many times Thou hast protected us from evils of soul and body, and for the numberless blessings, both temporal and spiritual, which Thou hast showered upon us. May it please Thee to accept the homage of our grateful hearts which we offer Thee in union with the infinite thanksgiving of Thy divine Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who with Thee liveth and reigneth forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer Five: We Give Thanks Prayer - Harry Jewell
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.
The important thing to remember is that saying grace is not about the words that you are using; it is about the sincerity of your words. Thanksgiving is a time to share our blessings with friends and family but it is also a time where we can help others to show how thankful we are for what we have.