November 26, 2023
Be blessed by this Thanksgiving Prayer written by Pastor Scotty Smith.
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. - Psalm 103:1-5
Dear heavenly Father, we praise, bless and worship you today, for the incalculable ways you demonstrate your love and care for us. On this Thanksgiving Day, we stop to give you thanks for many of the “benefits” that are ours, through your sovereign grace, inexhaustible mercy and boundless generosity. We are so grateful for…
The forgiveness of all our sins: Not just the sins up to the beginning of our life in Christ; not just the sins we acknowledge and confess; not just the sins we grieve and offer restitution for; not just the 4% of our sins we are actually aware of. NO! You have forgiven all our sins—past, present and future—through the work of Jesus. Hallelujah, for such lavish love!
The healing of all our diseases: Father, though it will take the 2nd coming of Jesus to complete, you have secured our complete healing—mind, body and spirit. The gospel is that big, good and comprehensive. One Day, we will dance and serve, in the new heaven and new earth—loving you with ALL our glorified heart, soul, mind and strength. Hallelujah, for such a living hope!
The redeeming of our lives from various pits: Father, through the gospel, you have rescued us from ALL kinds of pits. The pit of eternal separation from you; the pits of our own foolish designing and digging; the pits we have fallen into in a broken world; even the pits into which others have pushed us! Hallelujah, for all-pit redeeming grace!
The satisfaction of our desires with good things: O fountain of pleasures and source of all true delights, Father, you gave us our deep longings and have hard-wired us for wonder; you created our taste buds, auditory capacity, and nerve endings; you gave us our sense of smell and our passion to see; you designed us to come alive to the good, true and beautiful. And by your grace, you intend to satisfy every aspect of our being—with yourself, and with a myriad of good gifts—in this life, and the life to come.
Hallelujah! We shout with gratitude and joy, this Thanksgiving. Hallelujah, what a Savior Jesus is. Hallelujah, what a salvation you have given us. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ peerless name.