Previous Reflections
REFLECTIONS
November 23rd, 2014Make a joyful shout to the Lord…
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
Psalm 100:1-2, 4 NKJV
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Gracious and loving God, we bow humbly to you today in reflection of and thanksgiving for the many blessings of our lives. Daily we take so very much for granted—the extraordinary and the usual, the ways of nature and the many things we can’t explain, the humanity you gave us and your Spirit that indwells us.
Today we come to you in thanksgiving for the creation of heaven and earth, for the universe with all its mystery and its majesty, and for our lives that are a part of it all. When we pause from our busyness to try to understand it, the awesome reality of it comes alive. We see its magnificence, its beauty, its smallness in every detail, and its vastness beyond comprehension. We soak in the atmosphere that surrounds us. It provides the air that gives us life, the waters that refresh us, and the foods that sustain us.
How blessed we are to be created in your image and to be allowed the responsibility to oversee your creation. And how grateful we are that you granted us the freedom to do it as we choose, even at the risk of our doing it wrong! Then when our judgment goes astray, we are blessed that you take our many mistakes and transform them for good for those who love you.
Heavenly Father, we are thankful for the land we live in, the freedom we enjoy; and the communities, neighbors, and friends who share it with us. We thank you for the gift of family, for the privileges to worship you without fear, for the liberty to move about with no restraint, and for the opportunity to pursue a way of life in ways of our choosing.
Most of all we are thankful for the love you reveal in so many ways but none greater than the sacrifice of your Son. Though in very nature God, He humbled himself as a mortal man and He became obedient to death, even death on the cross. Through his sacrifice, our sins are washed away and we are blessed with everlasting life.
So we bow before you today in grateful Thanksgiving for your love and the sacrifice of Christ Jesus. For it is in his holy name we offer this our prayer. Amen
May your Thanksgiving Day be blessed with the love of Jesus.
You are the light of the world,
Richard +
Click here for Printer Friendly Version