The Best Thanksgiving Prayers to Express Your Gratitude This Holiday (2024)

“Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive from thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

— Grace Before Meals

“Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with celebration! Come before him with shouts of joy! Know that the Lord is God — he made us; we belong to him. We are his people, the sheep of his own pasture. Enter his gates with thanks; enter his courtyards with praise! Thank him! Bless his name! Because the Lord is good, his loyal love lasts forever; his faithfulness lasts generation after generation.”

— Psalm 100:1-5

“Loving Lord,

As I express my gratitude to you in prayer, may it be a pleasing, joyful sound to you.

Thank you, Lord, for your love. It brings me acceptance and significance.

Thank you, Lord, for your truth. It brings me guidance and direction.

Thank you, Lord, for your mercy. It brings me help and comfort.

Thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness. It brings me stability and strength.

Thank you, Lord, for your beauty displayed in the earth. It brings me joy and delight.

Thank you, Lord, for your way of redemption — the cross. It brings me salvation and regeneration.”

— Beth McLendon

“Heavenly Father, I am so grateful today. My heart overflows with gratitude. For eyes that see, for ears that hear, for fingers that grasp, for knees that bend, for lungs that breathe. I am so thankful for my family, my home, my Savior. Today, I ask for nothing and thank you for all things. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

— Sharon Jaynes

“We have come to the last meal of this day, to our supper meal. Let us be mindful of how our Lord, at such a meal as this, washed his friends' feet in an act of holy service. As this food is about to serve us as nourishment, may we also serve one another. May the seal of God's love rest upon this food and upon this day, now drawing to a close. May we and our gifts of food be under the tent of God's peace.”

— Edward Hays

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.”

— The Peace Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

“May all be fed. May all be healed. May all be loved. Amen.”

— John Robbins

“Thank the almighty, for all that He gave in life, for the food that you eat, for the people you greet, for the love in the heart, for that wonderful start. Thank the Lord for everything, because it is Thanksgiving Day!”

— Author Unknown

“O, heavenly Father: We thank thee for food and remember the hungry. We thank thee for health and remember the sick. We thank thee for friends and remember the friendless. We thank thee for freedom and remember the enslaved. May these remembrances stir us to service, that thy gifts to us may be used for others. Amen.”

— Abigail van Buren, a.k.a "Dear Abby"

“Lord, how can we ever thank You enough? You endured more pain, more shame, more sorrow, more grief than we can possibly fathom. Help us remember why You gave Your life. Because of love. Because of mercy. Because we desperately need them both. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

— Liz Curtis Higgs

“For the laughter of the children, for my own life breath, for the abundance of food on this table, for the ones who prepared this sumptuous feast, for the roof over our heads, the clothes on our backs, for our health, and our wealth of blessings, for this opportunity to celebrate with family and friends, for the freedom to pray these words without fear, in any language, in any faith, in this great country, whose landscape is as vast and beautiful as her inhabitants. Thank you, God, for giving us all these. Amen.”

— Rabbi Naomi Levy

"For flowers that bloom about our feet, Father, we thank Thee.
For tender grass so fresh, so sweet, Father, we thank Thee.
For the song of bird and hum of bee, for all things fair we hear or see, Father in heaven, we thank Thee.
For blue of stream and blue of sky, Father, we thank Thee.
For pleasant shade of branches high, Father, we thank Thee.
For fragrant air and cooling breeze, for beauty of the blooming trees, Father in heaven, we thank Thee.
For this new morning with its light, Father, we thank Thee.
For rest and shelter of the night, Father, we thank Thee.
For health and food, for love and friends, for everything Thy goodness sends, Father in heaven, we thank Thee."

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Heavenly Father, on Thanksgiving Day, we bow our hearts to You and pray. We give You thanks for all You've done, especially for the gift of Jesus, Your Son. For beauty in nature, Your glory we see, for joy and health, friends, and family. For daily provision, Your mercy and care, these are the blessings You graciously share. So today we offer this response of praise with a promise to follow You all of our days.

— Mary Fairchild

"We thank you for the turkey, the gravy, and the dressing. Dear Lord, this table overflows with Thy abundant blessing. Let us always be aware that all gifts come from You, and may we serve Your heavenly will in everything we do. Amen."

— Joanna Fuchs

"Be present at our table, Lord. Be here and everywhere adored. Thy creatures bless and grant that we may feast in paradise with Thee."

— John Cennick

"O God, we thank you for this earth, our home; For the wide sky and the blessed sun, for the salt sea and the running water, for the everlasting hills and the never-resting winds, for trees and the common grass underfoot. We thank you for our senses by which we hear the songs of birds, and see the splendor of the summer fields, and taste of the autumn fruits, and rejoice in the feel of the snow, and smell the breath of the spring. Grant us a heart wide open to all this beauty, and save our souls from being so blind that we pass unseeing when even the common thornbush is aflame with your glory. O God our creator, Who lives and reigns for ever and ever."

— Walter Rauschenbusch

"Our Father in Heaven, we give thanks for the pleasure of gathering together for this occasion. We give thanks for this food prepared by loving hands. We give thanks for life, the freedom to enjoy it all, and all other blessings. As we partake of this food, we pray for health and strength to carry on and try to live as You would have us. This we ask in the name of Christ, Our Heavenly Father."

— Harry Jewell

"Thank You, God, for the food we are about to eat, for those who are here to share these blessings, for the generosity of our hosts that make this possible. Bless those who are here and those who are in our hearts, and all those who are not as fortunate on this day. Amen."

— Patricia Gore

"O God, when I have food, help me to remember the hungry. When I have work, help me to remember the jobless. When I have a home, help me to remember those who have no home at all. When I am without pain, help me to remember those who suffer. And remembering, help me to destroy my complacency, bestir my compassion, and be concerned enough to help, by word and deed, those who cry out for what we take for granted. Amen."

— Samuel F. Pugh

"For food in a world where many walk in hunger; For faith in a world where many walk in fear; For friends in a world where many walk alone; We give you thanks, O Lord."

— Author Unknown