Almighty God,
giver of all good gifts:
We thank thee for the harvest of the earth
and for all the blessings of this life.
We thank thee for the land in which we live,
for the freedoms we enjoy,
and for all who have labored and sacrificed
that we might receive them.
Grant us grateful hearts;
deliver us from the sin of taking thy gifts for granted;
and teach us to share what we have received
with those who are in need.
Make us a people whose thanks is shown
not only in our words
but in our lives;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
ECUMENICAL AMERICAN TRADITIONAL; ECUMENICAL
A Thanksgiving Day Prayer
Also known as American Thanksgiving Prayer ยท National Day of Thanksgiving Prayer
About this prayer
Thanksgiving Day is observed on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States, a national holiday with deep roots in the Christian practice of setting aside days of public thanksgiving. The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony held a three-day celebration of thanksgiving in 1621 after their first harvest. President George Washington proclaimed the first national Thanksgiving in 1789. President Abraham Lincoln established it as a recurring national holiday in 1863. Many American churches hold Thanksgiving services, and Thanksgiving Day prayer has become a distinctly American Christian practice, blending patriotic gratitude with Christian thanksgiving to God as the giver of all good gifts. The prayer given here draws on the tradition of the American Thanksgiving proclamation and the language of the Psalms.
When it's said
This prayer is used at Thanksgiving Day services in American churches, at family Thanksgiving meals, and in private devotion on the national holiday. Many American Christians say a prayer of this kind at the Thanksgiving table before the meal.
Notes on the text
The prayer is deliberately ecumenical, avoiding language specific to any one denomination while remaining explicitly Christian in its address and conclusion. The petition 'deliver us from the sin of taking thy gifts for granted' is characteristic of the American Puritan tradition of covenant theology, in which prosperity given by God carries a responsibility to use it well and share it. The final petition that thanks be shown 'not only in our words but in our lives' echoes the General Thanksgiving from the BCP ('not only with our lips, but in our lives').
Source
American ecumenical tradition. Public domain.
Last reviewed: May 2026 against primary source.