Thanksgiving Blessing Prayer

 

O God,
We thank you for this earth, our home;

for the wide sky and the blessed sun, 

for the ocean and streams,

for the towering hills

and the whispering wind,

for the trees and green grass.

We thank you for our senses

by which we hear the songs of birds,

and see the splendor of fields of golden wheat,

and taste autumn's fruit,

rejoice in the feel of snow,

and smell the breath of spring flowers.

Grant us a heart opened wide to all this beauty;

and save us from being so blind

that we pass unseeing

when even the common thornbush

is aflame with your glory.

For each new dawn

is filled with infinite possibilities

for new beginnings and new discoveries.

Life is constantly changing

and renewing itself.

In this new day of new beginnings with God,

all things are possible.

We are restored

and renewed in a joyous awakening

to the wonder that our lives are

and, yet, can be.

AMEN.

By

 

Walter Rauschenbusch

 (October 4, 1861 – July 25, 1918)

A Christian theologian and Baptist pastor.