Thanksgiving Prayers Past and Present
Words of Appreciation, Gratitude and Counting of Blessings
Nov 2, 2008
Thanksgiving prayers, some of which have been handed down from long ago from the bible, others from American Indians, and others from wise men.
Abbey of New Clairvaux, Vina, California
Give us this day our daily bread, O Father in heaven, and grant that we who are filled with good things from Your open hand, may never close our hearts to the hungry, the homeless, and the poor....
Aztec Prayer
Lord most giving and resourceful, I implore you; make it your will that this people enjoy the goods and riches you naturally give, that naturally issue from you, that are pleasing and savory, that delight and comfort, though lasting but briefly, passing away as in a dream.
Cowboy Grace
Bless this food and us that eats it.
Iroquois Prayer
We return thanks to our mother, the earth, which sustains us. We return thanks the rivers and streams which supply us with water. We return thanks to all herbs, which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases. We return thanks to the corn, and to her sisters, the beans and the squash, which give us life. We return thanks to the bushes and trees, which provide us with fruit. We return thanks to the wind which, moving the air, has banished disease. We return thanks to the moon and the stars, which have given us their light, when the sun was gone. We return thanks to our grandfather He-no...who has given to us his rain. We return thanks to the sun, that he has looked upon the earth with a beneficient eye. Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit, in whom is embodied all goodness, and who directs all things for the good of his children.
Moravian Blessing
Come, Lord Jesus, our guest to be and bless these gifts bestowed by Thee. And bless our loved ones everywhere, and keep them in Your loving care.
Hebrew Blessing
Blessed are You, O Lord our God, Eternal King, who feeds the whole world with your goodness, with grace, with loving kindness, and with tender mercy. You give food to all flesh, for your loving kindness endures forever. Through your great goodness, food has never failed us. O, may it not fail us forever, for Your name's sake. Since You nourish and sustain all living things, and do good to all. And provide food for your creatures whom You have created. Blessed are You, O Lord, who gives food to all.
Herbrew Prayer
Though our mouths were full of song as the sea, and our tongues of exultation as the multitude of its waves, and our lips of praise as the wide-extended firmament; though our eyes shown with light like the sun and moon, and our hands were spread forth like the eagle of heaven, and our feet were swift as hinds, we should still be unable to thank thee, and bless thy name, O Lord our God and God of our fathers, for one thousandth or one ten thousands part of the bounties which thou has bestowed upon our fathers and upon us.
Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come unto God's presence with singing! Know that the Lord is God! It is he that makes us, and wer are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise! Give thanks to Him, bless His name! For the Lord is good.
Psalm 111
Praise the Lord. I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Great are the words of the Lord, studied by all who have pleasure in them. Full of honor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures for ever. He has caused his wonderful works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and merciful. He provides food for those who fear him; he is ever mindful of his covenant. He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the heritage of nations. The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy, they are established for ever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness. He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant for ever....
These prayers are not just for Thanksgiving Day. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, a prayer of thanksgiving can be as simple as "For each new morning with its light, for rest and shelter of the night, for health and food, for love and friends, for everything that goodness sends."
 |
