Give thanks for God’s gifts!

 Matthew 7:11 – Jesus promised, “If you imperfect people know how to give good gifts to your children, don’t you think your Father in heaven will give good gifts to those who ask?”

 

Lord, if we’ve ever thought of You as anything but loving, fair, merciful, and kind, we don’t know You very well! Forgive us, Heavenly Father, for thinking the worst of You when, like demanding children, we don’t get what we want when we want it!

 

Praise You, Heavenly Father, for being The One pure, holy, and true parent on Whom we depend.

 

Even if we complain, we thank You, Lord, for not rewarding bad behavior. Thank You for giving Your “Amen!” to every prayer we pray that’s based on Your promises, Your word. Praise You for giving us Your Holy Spirit if we just ask. Fill us with You, Lord. Keep us filled.

 

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2020, from Kneeling on the Promises of God – a book of Bible promises researched on Bible Gateway then paraphrased with relevant prayers following. If the book blesses you or those to whom you give a copy, positive reviews would greatly help to pass on the blessings! Thank you.

 

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Thanking God with Asaph

Asaph and his musically inclined descendants served as Temple Musicians,  ministering before the Ark of the Lord, singing songs of praise, and thanking God with Bible prayers such as this psalm: 

Psalm 75:1 – a prayer of Asaph
from the King James Version

Unto thee, O God,

do we give thanks,

unto thee

do we give thanks:

for that thy name is near

thy wondrous works declare.

From the Book of KJV Prayers - actual prayers from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV) collected by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019 

...

Psalm 75:1 – a prayer of Asaph
paraphrased into contemporary English

We give thanks

to You, O Lord.

We give thanks.

For Your Name

is near.

Your Name

holds wondrous

deeds. 

From the Book of Bible Prayers – actual prayers of the Bible collected from a variety of translations and paraphrased into everyday English by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019

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Bible Prayers: Thanksgiving to God

Thanksgiving reminds us to count our blessings and thank God for our families, friends, church, and country. It’s also an ideal time to pray these Bible prayers, first from the King James Version of the Bible, then these contemporary, paraphrased Bible prayers:

Psalm 75:1 – a prayer of Asaph

Unto thee, O God,

do we give thanks,

unto thee

do we give thanks:

for that thy name is near

thy wondrous works declare.

from the Book of KJV Prayers

Psalm 75:1 – a prayer of Asaph

We give thanks

to You, O Lord.

We give thanks.

For Your Name

is near.

Your Name

holds wondrous

deeds.

from the Book of Bible Prayers

Psalm 100 – a prayer of God’s people

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

Serve the Lord with gladness:

come before his presence with singing.

 Know ye that the Lord he is God:

it is he that hath made us,

and not we ourselves;

we are his people,

and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,

and into his courts with praise:

be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting;

and his truth endureth to all generations.

from the Book of KJV Prayers

Psalm 100 – a prayer of God’s people

Earth, I’m calling on you to make

a joyful noise to the Lord!

We worship You, Lord, with gladness.

We sing our way into Your presence.

We know You are God, and it is You,

Who has made us – we, Your people,

the sheep of Your pastures.

With thanks, we enter Your gates

and come into Your courts with praise.

We’re so grateful to You,

we bless and hallow Your Name.

How good You are, Lord! How faithful!

Your mercy  lasts forever, and Your truth

goes on and on to all generations.

from the Book of Bible Prayers

Psalm 106:47 – a prayer of God’s people

Save us, O Lord our God,

and gather us

from among the heathen,

to give thanks

unto thy holy name,

and to triumph in thy praise.

from the Book of KJV Prayers

Psalm 106:47 – a prayer of God’s people

O Lord, our God, rescue us.

Gather us together,

so we may give thanks

to Your holy Name.

May we glory

in Your praise.

from the Book of Bible Prayers

1 Timothy 2:1-6  – a prayer of Paul

I exhort therefore, that, first of all,

supplications, prayers, intercessions,

and giving of thanks, be made for all…;

For kings, and for all that are in authority;

that we may lead a quiet and peaceable

life in all godliness and honesty.

For this is good and acceptable in the sight

of God our Saviour; Who will have

all to be saved, and to come

unto the knowledge of the truth.

For there is one God, and one mediator

between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Who gave himself a ransom for all,

to be testified in due time.

from the Book of KJV Prayers

1 Timothy 2:1-6  – a prayer of Paul

Remind us, Lord,

to make our requests –

our prayers,

intercession,

and thanksgiving –

for everyone,

including our leaders

and all those in authority,

so we may live

peaceful,

quiet,

godly,

holy lives.

Surely this pleases You,

God our Savior,

for You want everyone

to be saved

and come to know

the truth in You.

You alone are God,

and we have One

mediator between You

and other people –

the One, Christ Jesus,

Who gave Himself

as a ransom for us

and everyone.

from the Book of Bible Prayers

Have a blessed Thanksgiving to God!

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019

…

Thank God for being with us!

Psalm 138: 1-3, 7-8

With all my heart, I give You thanks, O LORD.
Before the heavenly beings, I sing Your praise.

I bow down to You toward Your holy temple
and give thanks to You
for the love and truth in Your name –

Your name,
Your word
above all!

On the day I call,
You answer me
and increase the strength
in my soul.

Even if I find myself in the middle of trouble,
You protect me from the anger of others.

Your stretch out Your hand to me,
and the rightness of Your hand delivers me.

The Lord will fulfill
His purposes for me,
for Your steadfast love endures forever, O LORD,
and You will not let go
the work placed in Your hands.

© 2015, Mary Harwell Sayler prayer-a-phrased today’s reading in Psalm 138 from many translations found on Bible Gateway.

…

Jesus thanks God for what He has

When a great crowd had nothing to eat,
Jesus
called His disciples to Him and said,

“I’m concerned about this crowd. For three days
they’ve stayed with me without anything to eat.
If I send them away
hungry
to their homes,
they’ll faint on the way – and some
have come a great distance.”

The disciples replied, “How can anyone
feed so many people, here
in this desolate place?”

But Jesus (who relied
on more than evidence) replied:
“How much bread do you have?”

“Seven little loaves,” they said.

So Jesus ordered the crowd
to sit down on the ground,
and He took the seven loaves
and gave thanks
for what they had.

Then Jesus broke the bread
and gave the food
to His disciples to distribute.

And they also had a few little fish,
which Jesus blessed
before His disciples distributed that food too.

And it was good.

And it was blessed.

And the little became
more than enough
to feed 4,000
with food left
to fill seven baskets
full.

©2013 Mary Harwell Sayler, prayer-a-phrase of today’s Daily Bible Reading in the Gospel, Mark 8:1-9

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Thanksgiving prayer of thanks to God

One of the psalms for today's reading provides an ongoing prayer of thanks, especially timely during the coming week of Thanksgiving.

As you continue to pray this Bible prayer from Psalm 136, substitute one of the following synonyms for “endure” with each new reading, now and throughout the year:

Withstands
Bears
Tolerates
Sustains
Suffers
Continues
Persists
Stays
Goes on and on and on!

Psalm 136
poem paraphrase by Mary Harwell Sayler

Thank You! Thank You, LORD,
for You are good.
Your mercy *endures forever.

Thank You! Thank You, God of gods.
Your mercy *endures forever.

Thank You! Thank You, Lord of lords.
Your mercy *endures forever.

Oh, the great wonders You do
for Your mercy *endures forever!

By Your wisdom You made the heavens,
and Your mercy *endures forever.

You spread earth upon the waters.
You spread light and more light –
in the day sun, night stars and moon,
for Your mercy *endures forever.

You rescued Your people in the Bible,
and You rescue us and will rescue us
for Your mercy
*endures forever and forever.

Thank You! Thank You, God!

We give thanks to You
for Your enduring mercy is great,
and we need You forever and ever.

Psalm 136 as paraphrased poem, ©2012 by Mary Sayler