The Thanksgiving holiday is a great time to slow down and give God thanks for all He’s done for us in the preceding months. But as happens so often during times of celebration, it becomes a time of high tension and stress.
These thanksgiving prayers will remind you to focus your heart and attention on what really matters: your Heavenly Father, the giver of all good gifts.
Thanksgiving Prayer Meaning
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Have you ever found yourself wondering, what is a good prayer for Thanksgiving? or, what is the prayer of thanksgiving in the Bible? Or even, how do you say thanks to God?
Let me remind you that God is more concerned about the state of your heart than the fluency of your words.
A prayer of thanksgiving is one that takes self out of the equation and puts God in His proper place: at the center of everything.
Everything we have comes from God and through Him. It is He who deserves all the credit and glory for what we’ve accomplished. Had it been for our efforts alone, we could and would do nothing.
When we stop to consider that, gratitude flows out of our hearts and through our lips.
Thanksgiving Prayer in the Bible
When we don’t know how to pray, we can always find inspiration from people in the Bible. I liked Daniel’s thanksgiving prayer after God answered his prayer in Daniel chapter two.
When King Nebuchadnezzar had a disturbing dream, his first response was to call on his wise men to interpret it. But, for some reason, the king wanted the wise men to tell him the dream as well as its interpretation.
When they couldn’t, he ordered the deaths of all his wise men, including Daniel and his friends. Daniel sought and received a stay of execution for himself and his friends from Arioch, captain of the king’s guard.
He used the time to ask God to reveal the details and interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Daniel 2:1-12). When God revealed King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and provided an interpretation, Daniel responded with a prayer of thanksgiving.
Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.
He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him. “I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”
Daniel 2:20-23 NKJV
Daniel’s prayer gives us a model for our own thanksgiving prayers:
- Praise God for His attributes
- Thank Him specifically for what He has done.
Daniel’s short thanksgiving prayer to God was sincere and heartfelt and gives us a model we can use.
But, if you’re still stuck on what to pray this year, you can focus on these eight Thanksgiving prayer points.
8 Thanksgiving prayer points you can use right now
A prayer point is the focal point of your prayer request. It’s the main theme or topic that you’re praying about. As you think about what to include in your thanksgiving prayer, try focusing on one of these things:
- Thank God for your family
- Praise God for the continued health of your family members and yourself
- Express gratitude for friendship and the people God has put in your life
- Give thanks for God’s provision
- Thank God for His promises and the fact that He always keeps them
- Express thanks for the food you’re about to eat and all the meals He has provided up to that point
- Give thanks for His presence
- Thank God for His protection
Short Thanksgiving Prayers
Many of us believe that prayers have to be long or filled with illustrious words to be accepted by God. But God knows the heart. He doesn’t want flattery. He wants sincere praise. We give thanks to God because His mercy endures forever and ever. The Thanksgiving prayers below are intended to jumpstart your own prayers of thanksgiving to God.
Thanksgiving Prayer for the gift of life
Father, we are so thankful for the gift of life. We appreciate the fact that You sent Your Son to die in our place even before we acknowledge You as God.
We’re thankful that by believing in Your Son, we will receive the gift of eternal life. Thank You for accepting us into Your family through the blood of Your Son Jesus.
Help us to use this gift of life that You’ve given us to bring glory to Your name. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.
This short thanksgiving prayer is based on John 3:16, John 1:12, and John 3:36.
Prayer for thanksgiving and protection
Almighty God, we want to give You thanks for how You have protected us. You have hedged us in on every side. No matter where we are, You see us and you never leave us or forsake us.
We praise You because You have all the power to destroy anything that the enemy chooses to attack us. with We praise You because You are our Rock and hiding place. Help us to remain always in the shadow of Your wings for we ask in Jesus’ precious name, Amen.
This prayer of thanksgiving is based on Psalm 32:7, Psalm 139:5, 7-12, and Psalm 91:1.
General thanksgiving prayer
Abba Father, we are so grateful for all that You have done. You have given us life, health, strength, and purpose. You have gone before us every day and protected us in all our endeavors.
You’ve ensured that we had enough food to eat and a place to lay our heads. You have surrounded us with friends and family and we want to say thank You for them. Every good and perfect gift that we have comes from You and we give You glory. May we always be grateful for Your blessings, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
This thanksgiving prayer is based on James 1:17, Jeremiah 33:6, and Isaiah 30:21.
Prayers of thanksgiving are our way of praising God for all He’s done for us. We should express our gratitude to God daily. A thankful heart is one that is always lifted up in worship.
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