These classic, Thanksgiving Day prayers are some of my favorites. Both from the bible and from famous writers. They are perfect from remembering to give thanks to God.
Plus, if you have been asked to lead grace at the dinner table on Thanksgiving (or any day), you will find traditionally-worded prayers of grace below, too. May your blessings be many!
Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into God’s presence with singing!
Know that the Lord is God! It is he that made us, and we 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;
his steadfast love endures for ever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
Thanksgiving
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 EmersonO 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 home,
help me to remember those who have no home at all;
When I am without pain,
help me to remember those who suffer,
And remembering,
help me to destroy my complacency;
bestir my compassion,
and be concerned enough to help;
By word and deed,
those who cry out for what we take for granted. Amen.
– Samuel F. PughBe 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
Traditional Grace
For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful. Amen.
Let us pray! Bless us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.Come Lord Jesus, be our Guest, let this food of ours be blessed. Amen.
God is great, God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. Amen.
Bless, O Father, thy gifts to our use and us to thy service; for Christ’s sake. Amen.