Our Heavenly Father, for the beauty of creation, whether a stone or a star, a molecule or a Milky Way, an egg or an elephant, a rhododendron or a redwood – we give you thinks.
For a sunset flaming, a waterfall tumbling, a mountain heaving massive shoulders against the sky – we give you thanks.
For the way of a bird on a wing, the way of a horse on the run, the way of a fish in the sea – we give you thanks.
For country byways, for the cattle on a thousand hills, and homesteads in a thousand valleys – we give you thanks.
For the magic of music, the beauty of brush and pigment, the quintessence of great literature – we give you thinks.
For kind words cheering, for strong arms lifting, for unconditional love accepting – we give you thanks.
For homes, health, and happiness, for the flag rippling in in free winds, for a million church steeples pointing to the heavens – we give you thanks.
For your promise that know no breaking, your forgiveness that knows no returning, your love that knows no diminishing – we give you thanks.
For your comfort under dark skies of loss, for your light in shadowed valleys of fear, for your guidance in the wild wilderness of confusion – we give you thanks.
For bright moments and dim memories, for hearty laughter and welling tears, for all that time and distance cannot erase – we give you thanks.
For thanksgiving Day, for renewing of family ties (old, new, near, and far), for roast turkey and pumpkin pie – we give you thanks.
For all of this life and the world to come, made possible by Jesus Christ – we give you thanks.
For no blessing in all of history compares to Him – He Who is the Good Shepherd for all who stray, the Rock of Ages for all who are beset by the quick-sands of doubt and despair, the Bread of Life for all who hunger, the Light for those who see dimly, the Peace for those who know turmoil, the Resurrection and the Life for all who have faced the sorrow of death and separation – for Him above all else do we pause to give you thanks!
Amen.
SOURCE: Excerpted from Gerrit D. Schut’s Prayers For All Occasions (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, 1992), pp. 260-262.
For a sunset flaming, a waterfall tumbling, a mountain heaving massive shoulders against the sky – we give you thanks.
For the way of a bird on a wing, the way of a horse on the run, the way of a fish in the sea – we give you thanks.
For country byways, for the cattle on a thousand hills, and homesteads in a thousand valleys – we give you thanks.
For the magic of music, the beauty of brush and pigment, the quintessence of great literature – we give you thinks.
For kind words cheering, for strong arms lifting, for unconditional love accepting – we give you thanks.
For homes, health, and happiness, for the flag rippling in in free winds, for a million church steeples pointing to the heavens – we give you thanks.
For your promise that know no breaking, your forgiveness that knows no returning, your love that knows no diminishing – we give you thanks.
For your comfort under dark skies of loss, for your light in shadowed valleys of fear, for your guidance in the wild wilderness of confusion – we give you thanks.
For bright moments and dim memories, for hearty laughter and welling tears, for all that time and distance cannot erase – we give you thanks.
For thanksgiving Day, for renewing of family ties (old, new, near, and far), for roast turkey and pumpkin pie – we give you thanks.
For all of this life and the world to come, made possible by Jesus Christ – we give you thanks.
For no blessing in all of history compares to Him – He Who is the Good Shepherd for all who stray, the Rock of Ages for all who are beset by the quick-sands of doubt and despair, the Bread of Life for all who hunger, the Light for those who see dimly, the Peace for those who know turmoil, the Resurrection and the Life for all who have faced the sorrow of death and separation – for Him above all else do we pause to give you thanks!
Amen.
SOURCE: Excerpted from Gerrit D. Schut’s Prayers For All Occasions (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, 1992), pp. 260-262.