Thanksgiving Day is a time to reflect with gratitude  upon all of our many blessings..  We can do that privately in our own hearts and minds.  We can do it together as a group by sharing our blessings with one another.  Traditionally though, Thanksgiving has been a time to offer a prayer of thanksgiving.

In my life I’ve known countless good people, some of whom could comfortably offer up a prayer with ease and eloquence and many others who,  though they are no less sincere or less thankful, would feel awkward and be embarrassed to say a public prayer.  If I had to put myself into one of those two categories I’m afraid it would be the latter.

Prayer is a very personal thing and no one should ever be forced to pray publicly.  But what if you want to say a Thanksgiving prayer, but you just don’t know how?

Here are three easy steps to follow to write your very own Thanksgiving prayer.

#1 Give thanks for immediate blessings such as:

• This Day of Thanksgiving
• Family and Friends Gathered Together
• Good and Plentiful Food to Eat

#2 Give thanks for ongoing blessings such as:

• Provision for your needs
• Health (If you have it ,or doctors, hospitals and medicine if you or a loved one is sick).
• A free country in which to live, and the servicemen who defend it.

#3 Ask for continued blessings such as:

• Health (or healing) and continued provision
• Guidance and protection for our servicemen and our country.
• The fellowship and the food

The finished product would go something like this:

My Prayer

“Heavenly Father, thank you for this day you have given us to come together in gratitude.  Thank you for our families and our friends and for this wonderful meal that we can share.

Thank you for your watchful care and protection, for provision for all of our needs and for blessing us with good health.  Thank you for the opportunity to live in this great country, for our freedom and for the servicemen and women who uphold it.

Please continue to watch over and protect us in the coming year; bless us with good health and bring comfort and healing to those who are sick. Please guide and protect our country and our servicemen and women.

Thank you again for this wonderful meal and please bless it to our bodies.”

 ~ Amen ~

As simple as that, you can write your own Thanksgiving prayer and you can choose to keep it private or to share it with others!