More than 370 days have passed since Thanksgiving last year and, according to David in Psalm 68:19, the Lord has borne us up every one of those days. And so we say, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up”!
Commenting on this verse in a sermon delivered in 1625, English Bishop Joseph Hall said, “Blessed be the Lord is both applause and excitation; applause given to God’s goodness, and an excitation of others to give that applause.” I was drawn to these words from Psalm 68 as I look back on the past 371 days and beyond. I rejoice in God who, indeed, “daily bears us up” or, as the King James Version puts it, “daily loadeth us with benefits.” I hope to “excite” you to join me in giving “applause” to God’s goodness in daily “loading us with benefits.”
As you go into your Thanksgiving celebration, may this prayer drawn from God's Word guide you in your prayers of thanksgiving:
Almighty God,
On this Thanksgiving Day, our hearts are overflowing with gratitude to You for daily bearing us up and daily loading us with new mercies that have exceeded our prayers and accomplished more than we asked or imagined.
Every day, You have kept Your promises to Your people.
Every day, You strengthened us, helped us, and upheld us with Your righteous right hand.
Every day, You have provided all that we have needed according to the glorious riches that we have in Christ Jesus.
Every day, there has not been one good thing that You have withheld from us.
Every day, You have been slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness toward us.
Every day, You have been a refuge, a strength, and a very present help to us.
Every day, Your grace has been sufficient and Your power has been perfected in our weakness.
Every day, nothing separated us from Your love in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Every day, You continued the good work that you began in us.
Every day, You kept us on the path that leads to life.
Every day, You gave us joy in Your presence and pleasure at Your right hand.
Every day, You kept us abiding in the vine and bearing fruit for Your glory and the joy of the next generations.
Every day, Your eyes have been on us and Your ears attentive to our cries.
Every day, You have instructed us, taught us, and counseled us in the way that we should go.
Every day, You were pleased to not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
Every day, You sustained our hope in that day when every tear will be wiped away from our eyes; death, mourning, crying, and pain will be no more; and we will see You face to face, knowing the joy of Your presence from everlasting to everlasting.
Grant that we may sing Your praise and not be silent, O Lord our God, for the days that remain until next Thanksgiving—and forever—may we not cease to give thanks.
Amen.
