11/25/2021
As Christians we begin each day by thanking the Lord for His many blessings, but in the United States we celebrate a certain day in which entire families gather together and thank Him as one. We call this Thanksgiving Day, and although the secular join in by having a festive feast together, it began long ago as a holiday of Christian prayer; a time for worship, and thanksgiving, offered up as we thanked Him for His provision, protection, and the abundance of our lives… praying all this in the name of Jesus.
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”
1 Chronicles 16:34 ESV
On this day we gather from near and far, bringing food, and an offering from God’s provision, then we pray over it, thanking Him for all He has given us; every mercy, each moment of grace, for the new life in our families, and in remembrance of those who left us during the year. We pray over the year now past, and for the year ahead because each minute of every day is His.
“Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;”
1 Chronicles 16:28-29 ESV
On this day we speak fondly of our dead, and remember the lives we had with them. We thank God for the time we spent together, and pray that He will keep them for all eternity. Then we hold our newborns high, and ask Jesus to shepherd their lives, and to bring them to believe. We ask the Holy Spirit to increases their faith, and thank God for them… another generation of His precious children who have been born to remember His commandments, and receive His promises.
“Remember his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac,”
1 Chronicles 16:15-16 ESV
So, on this day of communal prayer our holy men, and the family patriarchs, and matriarchs of faith, stand in solemn prayer for us. They lift up our individual families as one greater tribe before God, and express thanksgiving for every aspect of our lives. Then they praise God, and give Him the glory for all the many blessings bestowed upon us during the past year. We call out to Him as children adopted through Christ into the family of God, and into the linage of Abraham.
“Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered, O offspring of Israel his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones!”
1 Chronicles 16:9-13 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for all your many blessings, and for joining us together as a family who worships you, sings your praises, gives you thanks, receives your forgiveness, and loves you in every way. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who loves us, provides for us, and watches over us throughout our lives. We praise you daily in our individual prayers, and we gather together today to thank you as a family, and as a nation of believers. We recognize you as one God, over all of us, every thing, and we praise and glorify you before all the world. Merciful are you who sent your Son Jesus Christ to live, suffer, die, and be resurrected to redeem us by your love, removing and separating us from our sin; making us worthy through Him to be in your presence for all eternity. Thank you for the past year, and for the year to come. We humble ourselves before you, and ask that all people, the world over, will join with us in thanking you in one voice… one faith… and one name… Jesus.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”
Ephesians 1:3-10 ESV
Rich Forbes