A Series of Prayers of Thanksgiving
from the Book of Common Prayer 1979
of the Episcopal Church, USA
Station 1
A General Thanksgiving
Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the
splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the
mystery of love.
We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us
on every side.
We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to
accomplishments which satisfy and delight us.
We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our
dependence on you alone.
Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word and the example of
his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through
which he overcame death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of
your kingdom.
Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know Christ and make him known; and through him,
at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.
Station 2
A Litany of Thanksgiving
Let us give thanks to God our Father for all his gifts so freely bestowed upon us.
For the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and sky and sea,
We thank you, Lord.
For all that is gracious in the lives of men and women, revealing the image of Christ,
We thank you, Lord.
For our daily food and drink, our homes and families, and our friends,
We thank you, Lord.
For minds to think, and hearts to love, and hands to serve,
We thank you, Lord.
For health and strength to work, and leisure to rest and play,
We thank you, Lord.
For the brave and courageous, who are patient in suffering and faithful in adversity,
We thank you, Lord.
For all valiant seekers after truth, liberty, and justice,
We thank you, Lord.
For the communion of saints, in all times and places,
We thank you, Lord.
Above all, we give you thanks for the great mercies and promises given to us in Christ Jesus our
Lord; To him be praise and glory, with you, O Father, and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever.
Amen.
Station 3
For the Mission of the Church
Almighty God, you sent your Son Jesus Christ to reconcile the world to yourself: We praise and
bless you for those whom you have sent in the power of the Spirit to preach the Gospel to all
nations. We thank you that in all parts of the earth a community of love has been gathered
together by their prayers and labors, and that in every place your servants call upon your Name;
for the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours for ever. Amen.
Station 4
For the Saints and Faithful Departed
We give thanks to you, O Lord our God, for all your servants and witnesses of time past: for
Abraham, the father of believers, and Sarah his wife; for Moses, the lawgiver, and Aaron, the
priest; for Miriam and Joshua, Deborah and Gideon, and Samuel with Hannah his mother; for
Isaiah and all the prophets; for Mary, the mother of our Lord; for Peter and Paul and all the
apostles; for Mary and Martha, and Mary Magdalene; for Stephen, the first martyr, and all the
martyrs and saints in every age and in every land. In your mercy, O Lord our God, give us, as
you gave to them, the hope of salvation and the promise of eternal life; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, the first-born of many from the dead. Amen.
Station 5
For the Nation
Almighty God, giver of all good things: We thank you for the natural majesty and beauty of this
land. They restore us, though we often destroy them.
Heal us.
We thank you for the great resources of this nation. They make us rich, though we often exploit
them.
Forgive us.
We thank you for the men and women who have made this country strong. They are models for
us, though we often fall short of them.
Inspire us.
We thank you for the torch of liberty which has been lit in this land. It has drawn people from
every nation, though we have often hidden from its light.
Enlighten us.
We thank you for the faith we have inherited in all its rich variety. It sustains our life, though we
have been faithless again and again.
Renew us.
Help us, O Lord, to finish the good work here begun. Strengthen our efforts to blot out ignorance
and prejudice, and to abolish poverty and crime. And hasten the day when all our people, with
many voices in one united chorus, will glorify your holy Name. Amen.
Station 6
For Heroic Service
O Judge of the nations, we remember before you with grateful hearts the men and women of our
country who in the day of decision ventured much for the liberties we now enjoy. Grant that we
may not rest until all the people of this land share the benefits of true freedom and gladly accept
its disciplines. This we ask in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Station 7
For the Diversity of Races and Cultures
O God, who created all peoples in your image, we thank you for the wonderful diversity of races
and cultures in this world. Enrich our lives by ever-widening circles of fellowship, and show us
your presence in those who differ most from us, until our knowledge of your love is made perfect
in our love for all your children; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Station 8
For the Beauty of the Earth
We give you thanks, most gracious God, for the beauty of earth and sky and sea; for the richness
of mountains, plains, and rivers; for the songs of birds and the loveliness of flowers. We praise
you for these good gifts, and pray that we may safeguard them for our posterity. Grant that we
may continue to grow in our grateful enjoyment of your abundant creation, to the honor and
glory of your Name, now and for ever. Amen.
Station 9
For the Harvest
Most gracious God, by whose knowledge the depths are broken up and the clouds drop down the
dew: We yield thee hearty thanks and praise for the return of seedtime and harvest, for the
increase of the ground and the gathering in of its fruits, and for all the other blessings of thy
merciful providence bestowed upon this nation and people. And, we beseech thee, give us a just
sense of these great mercies, such as may appear in our lives by a humble, holy, and obedient
walking before thee all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy
Ghost be all glory and honor, world without end. Amen.
Station 10
For the Gift of a Child
O God, you have taught us through your blessed Son that whoever receives a little child in the
name of Christ receives Christ himself: We give you thanks for the blessing you have bestowed
upon this family in giving them a child. Confirm their joy by a lively sense of your presence with
them, and give them calm strength and patient wisdom as they seek to bring this child to love all
that is true and noble, just and pure, lovable and gracious, excellent and admirable, following the
example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Station 11
For the parents
Almighty God, giver of life and love, bless N. and N. Grant them wisdom and devotion in the
ordering of their common life, that each may be to the other a strength in need, a counselor in
perplexity, a comfort in sorrow, and a companion in joy. And so knit their wills together in your
will and their spirits in your Spirit, that they may live together in love and peace all the days of
their life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Station 12
For the Restoration of Health
Almighty God and heavenly Father, we give thee humble thanks because thou hast been
graciously pleased to deliver from his sickness thy servant N., in whose behalf we bless and
praise thy Name. Grant, O gracious Father, that he, through thy help, may live in this world
according to thy will, and also be partaker of everlasting glory in the life to come; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
Station 13
Saturday in Easter Week
We thank you, heavenly Father, that you have delivered us from the dominion of sin and death
and brought us into the kingdom of your Son; and we pray that, as by his death he has recalled us
to life, so by his love he may raise us to eternal joys; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity
of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Station 14
Saint Matthew September 21
We thank you, heavenly Father, for the witness of your apostle and evangelist Matthew to the
Gospel of your Son our Savior; and we pray that, after his example, we may with ready wills and
hearts obey the calling of our Lord to follow him; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and
reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
CREDIT: GRACE CHAPEL
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