Faith & Life / Prayers for the Day
Quick Summary
Thanksgiving is the one day of the year when many families pause and pray together before they eat. Scripture gives us the words: "O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever" (Psalm 107:1). "Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise" (Psalm 100:4).
This page gives you Thanksgiving prayers for every part of the day. You'll find short prayers for the table, Thanksgiving dinner prayers, prayers for your family, blessings to speak over the meal, prayers for children, a prayer for a hard year or an empty chair, a prayer for church, and a night prayer to end the day. You'll also find the best Bible verses for Thanksgiving.
Bible Verses about Thanksgiving
| Verse | Reference |
|---|---|
| "Enter his gates with thanksgiving" | Psalm 100:4 |
| "O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good" | Psalm 107:1 |
| "You give them their food in due season" | Psalm 145:15 |
| "Bless the LORD for the good land" | Deuteronomy 8:10 |
| "Every perfect gift is from above" | James 1:17 |
| "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift" | 2 Corinthians 9:15 |
| "Give thanks in all circumstances" | 1 Thessalonians 5:18 |
| "Yet I will rejoice in the LORD" | Habakkuk 3:18 |
Scripture quotations from the New Revised Standard Version.
Short Thanksgiving Prayers
When everyone is gathered, say a few words about what you are thankful for, and then simply say, “Let’s bow our heads and give thanks.”
A One-Line Thanksgiving Prayer
Thank you, Lord, for this food, this family, and your faithful love. Amen.
A Short Thanksgiving Prayer From Psalm 107
O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever. Thank you, Lord, for every gift on this table and every person around it. Amen.
A Short Thanksgiving Prayer From James 1:17
Father, every good and perfect gift comes from you. Thank you for this meal, for the hands that made it, and for the people we get to share it with. Amen.
The Doxology
Many families sing or say the Doxology, written by Thomas Ken in the 1600s, before the Thanksgiving meal:
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise him, all creatures here below;
Praise him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Thanksgiving Dinner Prayers
Giving thanks before a meal is an old practice for God's people. Moses told Israel, "You shall eat your fill and bless the LORD your God for the good land that he has given you" (Deuteronomy 8:10). Jesus "looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves" before he fed the five thousand (Mark 6:41). These prayers are a little longer, for the person asked to say grace at the Thanksgiving table.
A Thanksgiving Dinner Prayer From Psalm 145
"The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing" (Psalm 145:15-16). Gracious God, you have opened your hand to us again this year. Thank you for this food and for the farmers, truckers, grocers, and cooks who brought it to this table. Thank you for the people gathered here and for the love that holds us together. Make us generous with what you have given us, and mindful of those who are hungry tonight. Bless this food, bless this family, and bless this day. In Jesus' name, Amen.
A Thanksgiving Grace for the Whole Table
Lord of the harvest, we come to this table with full hearts. Thank you for the blessings of this past year: for health and healing, for work and rest, for laughter and for the people who carried us through the hard days. Thank you for the cooks and for every dish they made. As we eat, let our conversation be kind and our hearts be open. Remind us that every good gift comes from you. Amen.
For more on what Scripture says about gratitude and abundance, see Bible Verses About Being Thankful and Bible Verses About Abundance.
Thanksgiving Prayers for Family
Thanksgiving brings families together, sometimes from far away, sometimes after a long time apart. These prayers give thanks for the people around the table and ask God to bless the time together.
A Thanksgiving Prayer for My Family
Father, thank you for my family. Thank you for every person at this table and for those who couldn't be here today. [Name them.] Thank you for the years you have given us together, the memories we share, and the love that keeps us coming home. Heal what is broken between us. Help us be patient, quick to forgive, and slow to take offense. Let this day be full of laughter and grace. Amen.
A Thanksgiving Prayer for Family Far Away
Lord, some of the people we love are far from this table today. Keep them safe wherever they are. Let them know they are loved and remembered. Bring us together again soon. Amen.
For prayers you can pray with your family every morning, see Morning Prayers for Family and Prayer for Family.
Thanksgiving Blessings
A blessing is spoken over people. Many families end the Thanksgiving meal, or send guests home, with one of these blessings from Scripture. For more, see Biblical Blessings: Meaning and Examples and Bible Verses About Blessings.
The Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24-26)
The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
A Thanksgiving Blessing for Guests
May the God who filled this table fill your heart with gratitude. May the love you found here go home with you. And may you know, every day of the coming year, that "his steadfast love endures forever" (Psalm 107:1). Amen.
A Blessing of Thanks (2 Corinthians 9:15)
"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" May we remember the greatest gift, Jesus Christ, at this table and every day. Amen.
Thanksgiving Prayers for Kids
Children can lead Thanksgiving grace too. These short prayers are easy to memorize, and the first one works well when each person around the table adds one thing they are thankful for.
Thank you, God, for food to eat, for family to love, and for friends to meet. Amen.
Dear God, thank you for Thanksgiving. Thank you for my family, my home, and this yummy food. Amen.
God is great, God is good. Let us thank him for our food. Amen.
Jesus, thank you for loving me. Help me be thankful every day, not only today. Amen.
A simple family tradition: before the meal, go around the table and have each person name one thing they are thankful to God for this year. Then have the youngest child pray the blessing.
A Thanksgiving Prayer for a Hard Year
Not every Thanksgiving is a happy one. Some families gather around an empty chair. Some come to the table after a diagnosis, a divorce, or a lost job. Scripture makes room for thanksgiving in grief. The prophet Habakkuk wrote:
"Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will exult in the God of my salvation." (Habakkuk 3:17-18)
The hymn "Now Thank We All Our God" was written by Martin Rinkart, a German pastor who served through war and plague in the 1600s and buried thousands of people in his town. Gratitude in that hymn comes from someone who knew loss. Paul tells us to "give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:18), and that includes the hard ones.
A Thanksgiving Prayer for an Empty Chair
Lord, there is an empty chair at our table this year, and it hurts. We miss [name]. Thank you for the years we had with them, for the laughter and the love and the way they made this day special. Hold our grief gently. Help us give thanks even through our tears, because your love has not left us and never will. Amen.
A Thanksgiving Prayer After a Difficult Year
God, this year has been hard, and you know all of it. I don't feel like celebrating, but I still want to thank you. Thank you for getting us this far. Thank you for the people who showed up. Thank you that your mercies are new every morning, even after this year. Give us hope for the year ahead. Amen.
For more comfort, see Bible Verses About Grief and Morning Prayers for Hard Times.
A Thanksgiving Prayer for Church
Many churches hold a Thanksgiving Eve or community Thanksgiving service. This prayer can open worship or serve as a prayer of thanksgiving in the service.
A Thanksgiving Prayer for Worship
Generous God, we enter your gates with thanksgiving and your courts with praise. You are good, and your steadfast love endures forever. We thank you for the harvest of this year: for food and shelter, for work and rest, for friendships and families, for this church and its people. We thank you most of all for Jesus Christ, your indescribable gift. Make us a grateful people. Open our hands to share with our neighbors in need, so that our thanksgiving becomes generosity. We pray in the name of Christ our Lord. Amen.
For more prayers for worship, see Opening Prayer for Church Service: Complete Guide With Examples and Bible Verses About Generosity.
A Thanksgiving Night Prayer
When the dishes are done and the house is finally still, end the day with thanks.
Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for the food, the conversations, the laughter, and even the chaos. Thank you for every person who sat at our table and every person we missed. Forgive me for any impatient word today. As I lie down tonight, let me rest in gratitude, knowing that "his steadfast love endures forever." Keep everyone traveling home safe. Amen.
For more prayers at the end of the day, visit Nightly Prayers.
Bible Verses for Thanksgiving
These verses work well on place cards, in a Thanksgiving card, or read aloud before the meal.
Psalm 100:4-5: "Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations."
Psalm 107:1: "O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever."
1 Chronicles 16:34: "O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever."
Psalm 9:1: "I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds."
Psalm 145:15-16: "The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season."
Deuteronomy 8:10: "You shall eat your fill and bless the LORD your God for the good land that he has given you."
James 1:17: "Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights."
2 Corinthians 9:15: "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!"
Colossians 3:15: "And be thankful."
1 Thessalonians 5:18: "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
For dozens more, see Bible Verses About Being Thankful.
Thanksgiving in the Bible
The American holiday came long after the Bible was written, and Scripture is full of thanksgiving. Israel's harvest festivals were times of gratitude for God's provision, especially the Feast of Booths at the end of the harvest (Deuteronomy 16:13-15). See What Is the Feast of Booths (Sukkot)? The psalms call God's people to give thanks again and again. Jesus gave thanks before meals and at the Last Supper. When he healed ten men with leprosy, only one returned to thank him, and Jesus noticed (Luke 17:15-18). Read more in Jesus Heals Ten Lepers (Luke 17:11-19).
In the United States, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving in 1863, in the middle of the Civil War, after years of letters from the writer Sarah Josepha Hale. Congress later fixed the date as the fourth Thursday of November. From the start, it was a day set aside to thank God.
Keep Praying
For a gratitude prayer you can pray every morning of the year, see Morning Prayers of Gratitude. For prayers for every season of the church year, see Morning Prayers for the Christian Year. For more prayers to begin the day, visit Prayers for the Day.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good short Thanksgiving prayer? "Thank you, Lord, for this food, this family, and your faithful love. Amen." For a Scripture prayer, use Psalm 107:1: "O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever."
What do you say for a Thanksgiving dinner prayer? Thank God for the food and those who prepared it, for the people at the table, and for the blessings of the year. Ask him to bless the meal and make you generous to others. Psalm 145:15-16 is a beautiful place to start.
What is the best Bible verse for Thanksgiving? Psalm 100:4 ("Enter his gates with thanksgiving") and Psalm 107:1 ("O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good") are the most popular. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 and James 1:17 are also favorites.
What is a good Thanksgiving blessing? The priestly blessing from Numbers 6:24-26: "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace."
What is a Thanksgiving prayer for kids? "God is great, God is good. Let us thank him for our food. Amen." Or: "Thank you, God, for food to eat, for family to love, and for friends to meet. Amen."
How do you pray on Thanksgiving when you are grieving? Name your loss honestly and thank God for the person you miss. Paul says to give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18), and Habakkuk 3:17-18 shows how to rejoice in God even in loss.
Works Consulted
Keller, Timothy. Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God. Dutton.
Voskamp, Ann. One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are. Zondervan.
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version.
