Monday, October 09, 2006
THANKSGIVING PRAYERS
A Thanksgiving prayer brings to mind a festive table filled with turkey, cranberries, and other traditional dishes. Families surround the table with mouths watering as young cousins eyeball pumpkin pies with whipped cream. Before the turkey is carved, the family joins hands with heads bowed and offers words of thanks for the meal spread before them.
For a way to express their thankfulness for survival and the first harvest, the deeply religious Pilgrims looked to the Bible. They found the celebrated Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), or Feast of Ingathering. The ingathering of Israelites (delivered from the desert of Sinai and their harvest were celebrated in this feast and is the most joyous of all feasts still today (Leviticus 23).
Another reference to giving thanks is found in the account of ‘setting’ what Samuel called the Ebenezer Stone. This was a memorial to remind them to be grateful for God’s help during an attack from the Philistines (1 Samuel 7:10-12).
Actually, the Bible speaks of giving thanks nearly from cover to cover. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says “No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
All early celebrations had one common theme—God. Thanksgiving was directed toward God, their Creator, Protector, and Provider. They believed that all good things ultimately came from Him as they do today. Other verses that include thanks can be read in Psalm 100:4, Psalm 105:1, and 1 Corinthians 15:57. For more information go to www.allaboutprayer.org.
In giving thanks to God for your “Thanksgiving,” following is a simple children’s prayer:
Thank you God for all that grows,
Thank you for the sky's rainbows,
Thank you for the stars that shine,
Thank you for my family and friends,
Thank you for the moon and sun,
Thank you God for all you've done!
Florence D. Heacock, Minister of Small Groups
For a way to express their thankfulness for survival and the first harvest, the deeply religious Pilgrims looked to the Bible. They found the celebrated Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), or Feast of Ingathering. The ingathering of Israelites (delivered from the desert of Sinai and their harvest were celebrated in this feast and is the most joyous of all feasts still today (Leviticus 23).
Another reference to giving thanks is found in the account of ‘setting’ what Samuel called the Ebenezer Stone. This was a memorial to remind them to be grateful for God’s help during an attack from the Philistines (1 Samuel 7:10-12).
Actually, the Bible speaks of giving thanks nearly from cover to cover. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says “No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
All early celebrations had one common theme—God. Thanksgiving was directed toward God, their Creator, Protector, and Provider. They believed that all good things ultimately came from Him as they do today. Other verses that include thanks can be read in Psalm 100:4, Psalm 105:1, and 1 Corinthians 15:57. For more information go to www.allaboutprayer.org.
In giving thanks to God for your “Thanksgiving,” following is a simple children’s prayer:
Thank you God for all that grows,
Thank you for the sky's rainbows,
Thank you for the stars that shine,
Thank you for my family and friends,
Thank you for the moon and sun,
Thank you God for all you've done!
Florence D. Heacock, Minister of Small Groups
Labels: 5 p.m., Posted by Florence 11/1/09
# posted by Andy @ 2:23 PM 
