Thanksgiving Poems and Prayers for Christians

These Thanksgiving poems remind us that no matter what our circumstances, we can always find reasons to be grateful and give thanks. Through sickness and health, good times and hard times, God is our faithful protector. His love is the energy of our lives. Feel free to share these Thanksgiving poems and prayers with family and friends this holiday.

Thanksgiving Prayer

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

A Thanksgiving Day Prayer

Lord, so oftentimes, as any other day
When we sit down to our meal and pray
We hurry along and make fast the blessing
Thanks, amen. Now please pass the dressing
We're slaves to the olfactory overload
We must rush our prayer before the food gets cold
But Lord, I'd like to take a few minutes more
To really give thanks to what I'm thankful for
For my family, my health, a nice soft bed
My friends, my freedom, a roof over my head
I'm thankful right now to be surrounded by those
Whose lives touch me more than they'll ever possibly know
Thankful Lord, that You've blessed me beyond measure
Thankful that in my heart lives life's greatest treasure
That You, dear Jesus, reside in that place
And I'm ever so grateful for Your unending grace
So please, heavenly Father, bless this food You've provided
And bless each and every person invited
Amen!

—Scott Wesemann

Thank You, Lord, for Everything

Dear Lord,

Thank you for the breath to say
Thank you for another day

Thank you for the eyes to see the world of beauty surrounding me
Thank you for the ears to hear your message of hope loud and clear

Thank you for the hands to serve and far more blessings than I deserve
Thank you for the legs to run the race of life until it's won

Thank you for the voice to sing
Thank you, Lord, for everything

Amen

—Submitted by Keith

Today and Every Day

Lord, too often our prayers
Are filled with impatience over what we want
Instead of gratitude for what we already have.

Remind us today and in the coming year
What is truly important.

Remind us to give thanks for family and friends.
Remind us to be grateful for the work you have given us.
Remind us to appreciate our many material blessings.

Most of all, remind us today and every day
To give thanks for your precious Son Jesus,
And the sacrifice he made for us
To give us eternal life with You in heaven.

Amen.

—Jack Zavada

Thank You for Their Life

Lord, this year there's an empty chair at the table.
But instead of feeling sad, we give You thanks for (his, her) life.

(Name) helped make us who we are today.
(His, her) love and wisdom got us through every crisis, large and small.

And we give thanks for the laughter. Lots of laughter.

Lord, You blessed us with (his, her) presence here on earth,
But through Your Son Jesus, we will all be able to enjoy (name)
In heaven with You forever.

Thank You for this priceless gift.

Amen.

—Jack Zavada

Thanksgiving

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)

We Gather Together

We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing;
He chastens and hastens his will to make known;
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing,
Sing praises to his name: He forgets not his own.
Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine;
So from the beginning the fight we were winning;
Thou, Lord, wast at our side, All glory be thine!
We all do extol thee, thou leader triumphant,
And pray that thou still our defender wilt be.
Let thy congregation escape tribulation;
Thy name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!
Amen

—Traditional Thanksgiving Hymn
(A translation by Theodore Baker: 1851–1934)

We Give Thanks

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

The Reason to Give Thanks 

In everything give thanks
It's what the Bible says to do
I thought, "Well that sounds easy,"
'Til I wondered what I'd do.
If all the lights were darkened,
All our energy was lost,
There were no more heaters running
And I was stuck out in the frost.
I imagined myself freezing
Even left out in the rain,
And thought, "What if there was no more shelter
To hide me from this pain?"
And then how hard it would be
To find some food somewhere,
My empty tummy crying out
It would be more than I could bear.
But even in this gloomy
And pitiful imagination
I realized I had not left out
My friends from this equation.
So then, of course, I pictured
All of this again
With loneliness, no family,
Not even just one friend.
I asked myself how I'd give thanks
If all these things were true,
And hope became an empty thing
Until I thought of You.
Of what Your Word has promised,
What Your Bible says is true.
You said: "I'll never leave or forsake you.
And though the mountains be removed
And the earth falls into the sea
I am still with you.
My love is everlasting.
I am your shield and great reward.
I have chosen you and kept you.
I have given you a sword.
I pour water on the thirsty.
I bind up the brokenhearted.
Though you turned your face against Me,
I have loved you from the start.
I have given you the garment of salvation for your clothes.
Every tear you've ever cried,
And all your pain My soul knows well.
And I have made a way to keep you.
No one plucks you from my hand.
I cannot lie.
I can't deceive you, for I am not a man."
It is with these words the Lord had spoken
That I finally understood.
All I'll ever need in this life is only in His hand.
It's true, most of us don't comprehend real need
We are truly blessed.
But when's the last time we asked ourselves,
"If all is gone, what is left?”
So even if this life brings pain
And all possessions tank
In everything or nothing,
He’s the reason to give thanks.

—Submitted by Corrie Walker