Gratitude at Thanksgiving

O Lord of the harvest moon, we thank you for the time of yellow-red leaves, the gathering of the fruit of the fields, and the promises of ever changing seasons.  We pray that it may be a fruitful season for all of us.  And as we become beneficiaries of these blessings, ripen us to Christian maturity that we may come to terms with our own lives, as they really are and not as we see them through our desires and wants.  So shall we bear one another’s burdens and forgive one another’s mistakes.

Renew our faith in the nobility of the dreams of our forefathers, and help us to dream of how we can leave to those who come after us a rich heritage in the things that last. 

Hear our prayers of thanksgiving this day.  We thank you for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain….and for all the blessings we can see.  But beyond the seen we give thanks for the unseen spiritual gifts, like grateful hearts.  Above all, we give thanks for Jesus Christ, who though he came in the flesh we must now see him in the spirit.

Open our eyes to see that beyond that which we recognize as good and desirable, there are hurts, pains, losses, and experiences which are unwanted by us, in which we may find ways to turn them into blessings.  Even in these you can make all things work together for good to those who love you.  For this we give thanks.

And we thank you for the power of prayer, for the grace that is available for us in special needs.  So we pray now for those whose burdens are on our hearts.

email Van