The prayer for Thanksgiving is more than our feeble attempt
at communication with God. It is a wonderful opportunity for the Lord to teach
us the lessons of Thanksgiving. As we speak to the Lord He speaks back to us.
This evening as we pray to the Lord may He speak to us through this powerful
prayer:
Almighty God, whose
mercies are new every morning and whose goodness though undeserved still
abundantly provides for all our wants of body and soul, grant us, we humbly
pray, Your Holy Spirit that we may heartily acknowledge your merciful goodness
toward us, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve you in willing
obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with
You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
I. Almighty God. In thanksgiving, we address the
Lord, the author of all life. What is it that we can say about the Lord? Our
prayer suggests three important realities.
A. Whose mercies are
new every morning.
The Psalmist reminds us “His mercy
endures forever.”[2]
Yet they come to us each day.
Every day is a new day. Every day is an opportunity to serve
the Lord in this generation. Every day is the Lord supplies us with everything
we need to support our body and life.
In the 4th Petition of the Lord’s Prayer, the
question is asked: What is meant by daily bread? Luther sums it up with these
words. “Daily bread includes everything
that has to do with the support and needs of the body such as food, drink,
clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or
wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rules, good
government, good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good
friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.[3]
B. Whose goodness
though undeserved.
The Lord’s goodness has nothing to do with you. Notice that we must acknowledge
the complete opposite. The Lord’s goodness is completely undeserved. We daily
sin much and deserve nothing but punishment. Yet, in spite of our sinfulness,
in spite of our pettiness, in spite of our haughtiness, in spite of our
meanness and condescension the Lord chooses to bless us. And we don’t deserve
it!
C. Still [He]
abundantly provides for all our wants of body and soul. So also with you – without your
Heavenly Father you could not survive. The Lord not only provides but He does
it abundantly for every want of body and soul. We used this evening the
explanation of the 1st Petition of the Apostles’ Creed as our
confession of faith.
During this Thanksgiving Holiday read it again. It’s quite a
list. It explains so well, how our Lord chooses to provide for you - everything
you need not just physically but spiritually as well.
II. Grant us, we humbly
pray, Your Holy Spirit
A. That we may heartily
acknowledge Your merciful goodness toward us. We need the Holy Spirit for the things of God are
spiritually considered. We need the Holy Spirit so that we can come to
understand the things of God. We need the Holy Spirit so that we can come to a greater
understanding of everything the Lord has done for us.
B. Give thanks for all
Your benefits. In thanksgiving,
we offer to Him our worship and praise. In thanksgiving, we offer our praises
in worship. In thanks living, we praise God as we serve our neighbor.
C. And serve You in
willing obedience.
Reflecting on the blessings of God allows us to want to serve God faithfully.
Reflecting on the blessings of God allows us to follow His statutes with a
willing heart. Reflecting on the blessings of God allows us to follow His
commandments obediently.
III. Through Jesus
Christ, Your Son our Lord,
A. Who lives and reigns
with You and the Holy Spirit. All three persons of the Godhead are involved in the
blessings I receive. Each person of the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Ghost
are active in my life. As we have just celebrated Christ the King Sunday, we
worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who lives and reigns through all
eternity.
B. One God. He is one true God, the only true
God. He is without beginning and without end. Yet, He has broken into time and
space to be our Redeemer, Savior, Shepherd and friend.
C. Now and forever. This is not a simple phrase. It
reminds us that the truths of God will never cease. Jesus Christ is the same,
yesterday, today, and forever. The praises we offer Him tonight we last into
eternity. The blessings He bestows on us today will continue once time ceases.
We worship an eternal God whose mercies cannot be counted.
The only thing left to say after any good prayer is simply the
word Amen. What is meant by the word
“Amen”? This means that I should be
certain that these petitions are pleasing to our Father in heaven and are heard
by Him; for He Himself has commanded us to pray in this way and has promised to
hear us. Amen, amen means, “yes, yes, it shall be so.”[4]
And it shall be so – in Jesus’ Name! A blessed Thanksgiving!
Words-920
Passive Sentences –4%
Readability – 73/4%
Reading Level – 6.1
[2] Psalm 118
[3] Explanation to the 4th Petition of the Lord’s Prayer
[4] Luther’s Small Catechism Conclusion to the Lord’s Prayer
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