Dr. Mike Jones

By: Dr. Mike Jones

As we approach the ending of another year, for Christians, nothing touches the heart of God more, than to see His children showing the God-centered gratitude, that our Lord demands and deserves; a sincere form of appreciation for who He is and for what He has done through us and for us.

This month, we know it best as Thanksgiving, a time of expressing profound gratefulness for His tender mercies, comfort, and spiritual guidance.

So, this Thanksgiving, in the midst of all the age-old traditions that we as Americans have grown accustom too, such as, the great food feast at the family dinner, football, etc., let us not neglect to give our Heavenly Father thanks for, biblical truth, salvation, and real families who make a difference.

[Prayer:] Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you most humble and hearty thanks for all your goodness and loving kindness to us, and to all people. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your boundless love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, for the means of grace, and the hope of glory. Give us, we pray, such a sense of all your mercies that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be all honor and glory, for ever and ever. AMEN.

This version of the General Thanksgiving is taken from An American Prayer Book (2009). The General Thanksgiving was the contribution of the Puritan Edward Reynolds to The Book of Common Prayer of 1662.