A Prayer to Stir Up Thanksgiving Gratefulness
By Lynette Kittle
Bible Reading
“You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God” – 2 Corinthians 9:11
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Sadly, Thanksgiving Day has been taking a hit by some modern-day educators and activists who are trying to abolish, degrade, and erase America’s godly heritage and significance from our history books. They are set on tearing down the importance of the first Thanksgiving by calling it a blot in American history. Rather than allowing it to bring our nation together, they are working to cause divisions between people in our country by distorting and rewriting history, saying the pilgrims brought destruction to the Native Americans.
But President, historian, and Providence Forum Executive Director Jerry Newcombe paints a more accurate picture of what occurred, pointing out how his film “The Pilgrims” shows how the original Plymouth, Massachusets,1621, Thanksgiving celebration, provides a good example of individuals from different backgrounds, and cultures breaking bread together in harmony. “The original Thanksgiving was a celebration involving true diversity,” writes Newcombe, “showing what happens when people of different cultures sit down and celebrate together.” Additionally writes Newcombe, Rev. Billy Falling, a Native-American author and minister, explained, “The Pilgrims did have good relations with the Indians. The Pilgrims were kind to the Indians, they showed them love, they showed them compassion, they showed them the godly way to live.”
Stirring Up Thanksgiving Gratefulness
One way the Pilgrims showed thankfulness was by being generous with the Native Americans, sharing their faith, time, and harvest with them. Like them, we can stir up Thanksgiving gratefulness around us, too, by being generous. Below are four ways to do so.
1. Stir up gratefulness by being generous with our words.
The Pilgrims shared their faith with Native Americans, and we can share faith-filled words to encourage and inspire those around us. During Thanksgiving, we can ask God to lead us in speaking and writing uplifting words, as 1 Thessalonians 5:11 urges: “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
2. Stir up gratefulness by being generous with our time.
The Pilgrims spent time with the Native Americans. We, too, can spend time with those around us, whether sitting and talking, sharing stories and life experiences, or holding their hand during tough and sorrowful times. The Apostle Paul, in Romans 12:13, suggests we should “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”
3. Stir up gratefulness by being generous with our food.
Like the Pilgrims, we can be generous with our food by dropping off a meal to someone who’s alone or recovering from an illness, surgery, or accident. Acts 2:46 gives us a picture of this kind of Christian generosity, lived out in the early church. “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.”
4. Stir up gratefulness by being generous with our strengths.
If we’re just getting by with feeding our own families, we may not have much to pass around, but there are other ways we can be generous besides sharing food. We can lend our time to help those around us organize their homes, help clean up their yards, or provide transportation to church, stores, and appointments.
Sometimes we can be so focused on helping the lost that we overlook helping our fellow believers in Jesus Christ, but Galatians 6:10 urges, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
Let’s Pray:
Dear Father,
We come to You with grateful hearts, thankful to You for the godly heritage our nation was founded on, where Your faithfulness was shared and celebrated. Protect our nation’s history from those who seek to rip our godly heritage out of the history books and those who seek to divide our country with untruths. Help us stir up gratitude among our family members and communities this Thanksgiving Day by being generous with our words, time, food, and strengths so that You may be praised and glorified through our efforts.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/pondsaksit
Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.
Editor’s Note: We’re proud to announce we’ve just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You’ll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it’s a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
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