“To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.”– Karl Barth
Below is a prayer for Thanksgiving
The world is raging, O Lord. There are times when the worst of who humanity can be is shown in the most horrific ways: murder, anger, disgust, innocence lost. Our minds race with questions and concerns trying to piece together something, anything that resembles an answer for why these things must take place, why we as your children find more and more ways to hurt one another.
You have created humanity in your own image; you have gifted us with the indwelling of your mark, your light, your spirit; you have named us and claimed us as your own. All of humanity is created and formed in this very image. When pain is created at the expensive of another then it causes pain against you O God. When we allow hate to rule our hearts, we in turn are hating you; when we reject others based on fear and the unknown then we are rejecting you.
Help us O God to be a beacon of light, life, peace, justice, stewardship, mercy and grace. Rise up within the Church faithful followers who will put aside fear, disgust and anger and put on grace, truth, peace and hope. May we open our arms to welcome those who are hurt, welcome those who are needing rest, welcome those who are seeking calm and comfort. May we cast aside our fear and take on the mantle of courage and faith. Guide our thoughts and actions that we might strive to serve your kingdom in our actions, donations and prayers.
In the midst of all that is happening in our world, we stop, gather with family and friends and reflect on the ways in which we are thankful for the year gone by. While we say that there are so many things that we are thankful for, it is hard to enumerate, to articulate them all in a single day or much less a single meal.
For this day O Giver of Life, we are thankful.
For an opportunity to rest and be revived, we are thankful.
For the bounty of blessings that you cast upon us: life, family, friends, companionship, mercy and forgiveness, we are thankful.
How can one person ever find the words to encapsulate the ways in which you O Lord have provided for us, guided us, showed us a better way?
Remind us of the simplicities of life, the simplicities of our faith that we are to be thankful for. Allow us to be moved to more than pleasantries but to truly reflect this Thanksgiving on all the things we have been blessed with.
We pray this in the name of the one who comes on our behalf, Jesus the Christ.
Amen.
Rev. Dr. Evan M. Dolive 