12 Thanksgiving Prayers for Family, Children & Dinner Times

lords prayer words - traditional and contemporary prayers

Thanksgiving Prayer to God

Thanksgiving is a such a special time of year! A time of great celebration, a time of precious moments shared with family and friends, and most of all, a time to praise and thank the living God for His goodness and gracious provision. This page gathers together many beautiful and well-loved prayers, quotes and famous bible verses to use as you celebrate and eat together. There are simple thanksgiving prayers for children to say, several short thanksgiving dinner meal prayers (including the popular Ralph Emerson blessing), the words to the inspiring hymn “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” and a beautiful family prayer.

Short Thanksgiving Prayer

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

John F. Kennedy

resources on this page

Thanksgiving dinner prayers
Ralph Emerson's thanksgiving prayer
Thanksgiving prayers for children
Family thanksgiving prayer

Short Thanksgiving Prayer

A inspiring prayer thanking God for His presence through the changing seasons of life:-

this film can be downloaded at prayerscapes

A Prayer of Praise and Thanksgiving

For creation and for growth we are thankful O Lord.
For provision and resources, we praise you.
For each fruit that we eat,
For each grain that we blend,
For the wonder of water,
For the seeds that you send.

For breath and for life we are thankful O Lord.
For taste and sensation, we praise you.
For each beat of our heart,
For each blink of an eye,
For the wonder of sight,
For sleep through the night.

For love and for mercy we are thankful O Lord.
For Jesus, our Saviour we praise you.
For each gift you have given,
For each promise you’ve made,
For the blessings we live in,
For the life that you gave.

We are forever thankful O Lord.

Amen.

a prayer of praise and thanks from www.lords-prayer-words.com

Thanksgiving Blessing

O God,
We thank you for this earth, our home; for the wide sky and the blessed sun, for the ocean and streams, for the towering hills and the whispering wind, for the trees and green grass.

We thank you for our senses by which we hear the songs of birds, and see the splendor of fields of golden wheat, and taste autumn's fruit, rejoice in the feel of snow, and smell the breath of spring flowers.

Grant us a heart opened wide to all this beauty; and save us from being so blind that we pass unseeing when even the common thornbush is aflame with your glory.

For each new dawn is filled with infinite possibilities for new beginnings and new discoveries. Life is constantly changing and renewing itself. In this new day of new beginnings with God, all things are possible. We are restored and renewed in a joyous awakening to the wonder that our lives are and, yet, can be.

Amen.

(Walter Rauschenbusch)

Thanksgiving Prayer

a printable prayer suitable for personal devotion or for a program or church newsletter:-

Blessings to say before the meal

Here are four great Thanksgiving prayers for before eating:-

Thanksgiving dinner prayer

O Lord,

How full is this world of your unending creativity.
How astounding is creation in all its variety.
How breathtaking is new life, growth and transformation.
How wonderful is your provision for us your children!
This day, we celebrate your great goodness with thankful hearts and joyful lives.

Amen.

(a mealtime prayer from www.lords-prayer-words.com)

Thanksgiving Prayer

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 Emerson (1803-1882)

prayer before meals

Thanksgiving Blessing Prayer

(suitable for a dinner or family time)

O Lord,

Thank you for all the good gifts you have given us.
Thank you for the fine delicate balance of the natural world.
Thank you for the amazing variety of fruit seeds and grains.
Thank you for the beauty of autumn when the greens turn yellow, gold and crimson.

Lord, help us to enjoy this beautiful season,
And the wonderful food you have given us.

Amen.

www.lords-prayer-words.com

A Prayer of Thanks

An uplifting short prayer (2 mins) which inspires us to thank God for his great goodness and love:-

Children and Family Prayers

Three prayers for family & children times together:-

Prayer for Children on Thanksgiving Day

Dear God,

Thank you for all the good things you have made,
The sun and the sea and the beautiful sky.
Thank you for fruit trees, for oat wheat and bread,
For the sunrise as day starts and the stars in the night.

Thank you for all my family and friends,
For fun and for cuddles, for the love that we share.
Thank you for house pets, for animals and fish,
For the tiniest insects and the magnificent whale!

Thank you for loving me all of the time,
For watching and caring each day.
When I’m happy or sad, awake or in bed,
Thank you for helping and hearing my prayers.

Amen.

(a prayer of thanks from www.lords-prayer-words.com)

Thanksgiving Prayer for Children

(a prayer for parents)

Thank you for our children.
Bless them with your love and peace,
Protect them with your truth and strength,
Engage them with your hope and vision.
Thank you for our children.

Amen.

(a parents prayer from www.lords-prayer-words.com)

Thanksgiving Prayer for Young Children

Lord, thank you for the flowers and thank you for the trees
Thank you for my special friends and all the fun they bring
Thank you for the food I eat and thank you for my drink
But most of all I thank you for the way you love me

(a childrens prayer from www.lords-prayer-words.com)

Anglican Prayer of Thanksgiving

Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we beseech thee, faithful stewards of thy great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Amen.

source: Book of Common Prayer, 1979 version, Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA.

O Lord, that lends me life, Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness!

William Shakespeare (King Henry VI, Part II. Act I, scene i)

Thanksgiving prayer for the family

Lord God,

I give you all the members of our family. You know them all so well and love them all. I ask that you would cover us with a rainbow of hope.

Hope that draws us together to work out our differences.
Hope that helps us to celebrate together and care for one another.
Hope that rides like a banner in our lives and watches over us wherever we go.
Hope that overcomes adversity and gathers strength to overcome.
Hope that guides us and gives us vision for our future alone and together.
Hope filled with love.
Hope that fuels faith.
Hope that breathes peace.

May our family live in you
Underneath your promises.

Amen.

(a prayer of thanks from www.lords-prayer-words.com)

Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home; all is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin. God our Maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied; come to God's own temple, come, raise the song of harvest home.

All the world is God's own field, fruit as praise to God we yield; wheat and tares together sown are to joy or sorrow grown; first the blade and then the ear, then the full corn shall appear; Lord of harvest, grant that we wholesome grain and pure may be.

For the Lord our God shall come, and shall take the harvest home; from the field shall in that day all offenses purge away, giving angels charge at last in the fire the tares to cast; but the fruitful ears to store in the garner evermore.

Even so, Lord, quickly come, bring thy final harvest home; gather thou thy people in, free from sorrow, free from sin, there, forever purified, in thy presence to abide; come, with all thine angels, come, raise the glorious harvest home.

Lyrics by Henry Alford (1810-1871)
Music by George J. Elvey (1816-1893)

Short Thanksgiving Prayer

Lord, thank you for walking with us through the seasons of our lives.
For the winter, when we are held safe in your arms through the darkness.
For the hope of spring, as we are filled with new promise and life.
For summer time, full of warmth and colour
And for autumn days as leaves fall to seed new growth.
You are always with us.

Amen.

(a short prayer of thanksgiving from www.lords-prayer-words.com)>

A Simple Prayer of Thanks

Thank you.
I dwell upon the goodness in my life.
Thank you.
I cherish in my heart Your gift to me.
Thank you.
I notice the blessings of life, breath, loving and sharing.
I am so very grateful.

Thank you, Lord.

(a simple prayer of thanks from www.lords-prayer-words.com)

Bible verses about thanksgiving

Below are featured some useful scriptures related to thanksgiving. They may be useful as a reading before a thanksgiving prayer, or for a period of worship and praise to God.

Prayer of Thanks to God

This is part of a prayer when the Covenant Box had been brought into Jerusalem and placed in the tent prepared by David:-

"Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good;
his love is eternal".

1 Chronicles 16:34, (GNT)

Psalm 100

Make a glad sound to the Lord, all the earth. Give worship to the Lord with joy; come before him with a song. Be certain that the Lord is God; it is he who has made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep to whom he gives food. Come into his doors with joy, and into his house with praise; give him honour, blessing his name. For the Lord is good, and his mercy is never-ending; his faith is unchanging through all generations

(Psalm 100, BBE)

Take a moment to hear from God...

here are links to some wonderfully inspired prayers to aid your journey