A Day for Thanksgiving

“Much time has passed since the first colonists came to rocky shores and dark forests of an unknown continent, much time since President Washington led a young people into the experience of nationhood, much time since President Lincoln saw the American nation through the ordeal of fraternal war–and in these years our population, our plenty and our power have all grown apace. Today we are a nation of nearly two hundred million souls, stretching from coast to coast, on into the Pacific and north toward the Arctic, a nation enjoying the fruits of an ever-expanding agriculture and industry and achieving standards of living unknown in previous history. We give our humble thanks for this. Yet, as our power has grown, so has our peril. Today we give our thanks, most of all, for the ideals of honor and faith we inherit from our forefathers–for the decency of purpose, steadfastness of resolve and strength of will, for the courage and the humility, which they possessed and which we must seek every day to emulate. As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them. Let us therefore proclaim our gratitude to Providence for manifold blessings–let us be humbly thankful for inherited ideals–and let us resolve to share those blessings and those ideals with our fellow human beings throughout the world.” (President John F. Kennedy, Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, 1963

“You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” (2 Corinthians 9:11; NIV)

Give Him 15 minutes in prayer:

• Thank the Lord for our history as recounted by President Kennedy. Let Holy Spirit help you feel the significance of those moments in history.
• Thank Him for blessing America with abundance—of people, of resources, with all we need to have an abundant life. Ask the Lord to give the Church creative ideas on how to make these blessings accessible to all.
• Thank the Lord for the ideals of honor, faith, steadfastness, resolve, strength of will, courage, humility and decency of purpose that are hallmarks of this nation. Pray we can fully return to these ideals. We will need a move of God. Reach out to Him for it!
• Pray for the lost, the downhearted, the lonely, the poor and the oppressed today.
• If you can do something practical to help another, go do it today.

A prayer you can pray:

Thank you, Lord, thank you! May we give thanks today for this wonderful nation we have inherited. Whether born here or immigrated, we are thankful that You established this nation and You preserve this nation and we are thankful to be a part of it. Thank You for the resources we have, the standard of living and the freedom. Thank You that we are known as a faith-filled people of honor, steadfastness and resolve to do the right thing. Lord, we need a move of God to change the hearts of men if we are to continue as the great nation You have made us. We pray for those who are troubled, lonely and hurting today. Help us to meet some of their needs, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Today’s decree:

We will be a thankful people, as we have been blessed with more than any other nation on the earth because of Him!