24 Thanksgiving Prayers and Blessings to Read at Your Dinner Table

“Thank the almighty, for all that He gave in life, for the food that you eat, for the people you greet, for the love in the heart, for that wonderful start. Thank the Lord for everything, because it is Thanksgiving Day!”

– Author Unknown

“O, heavenly Father: We thank thee for food and remember the hungry. We thank thee for health and remember the sick. We thank thee for friends and remember the friendless. We thank thee for freedom and remember the enslaved. May these remembrances stir us to service, that thy gifts to us may be used for others. Amen.”

– Abigail van Buren, a.k.a "Dear Abby"

“Thank you for your amazing power and work in our lives, thank you for your goodness and for your blessings over us. Thank you that you are Able to bring hope through even the toughest of times, strengthening us for your purposes. Thank you for your great love and care. Thank you for your mercy and grace. Thank you that you are always with us and will never leave us. Thank you for your incredible sacrifice so that we might have freedom and life. Forgive us for when we don't thank you enough, for who you are, for all that you do, for all that you've given. Help us to set our eyes and our hearts on you afresh. Renew our spirits, fill us with your peace and joy. We love you and we need you, this day and every day. We give you praise and thanks, for You alone are worthy! In Jesus' Name, Amen.”

– Debbie McDaniel

“Lord, how can we ever thank You enough? You endured more pain, more shame, more sorrow, more grief than we can possibly fathom. Help us remember why You gave Your life. Because of love. Because of mercy. Because we desperately need them both. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

– Liz Curtis Higgs

“For the laughter of the children, for my own life breath, for the abundance of food on this table, for the ones who prepared this sumptuous feast, for the roof over our heads, the clothes on our backs, for our health, and our wealth of blessings, for this opportunity to celebrate with family and friends, for the freedom to pray these words without fear, in any language, in any faith, in this great country, whose landscape is as vast and beautiful as her inhabitants. Thank you, God, for giving us all these. Amen.”

– Rabbi Naomi Levy

"For flowers that bloom about our feet, Father, we thank Thee.
For tender grass so fresh, so sweet, Father, we thank Thee.
For the song of bird and hum of bee, for all things fair we hear or see, Father in heaven, we thank Thee.
For blue of stream and blue of sky, Father, we thank Thee.
For pleasant shade of branches high, Father, we thank Thee.
For fragrant air and cooling breeze, for beauty of the blooming trees, Father in heaven, we thank Thee.
For this new morning with its light, Father, we thank Thee.
For rest and shelter of the night, Father, we thank Thee.
For health and food, for love and friends, for everything Thy goodness sends, Father in heaven, we thank Thee."

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Oh Lord, with humble hearts we pray thy blessing this Thanksgiving Day and ask that at table place, where grateful folk say words of grace, that Thou will come to share the yield thy bounty gave to farm and field. We pray thy love will bless, oh Lord, each hearth, each home, each festive board; and that Thy peace will come to stay where candles glow, Thanksgiving Day."

– Brian F. King

"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."

– Psalm 100

"Thank you, Father, for having created us and given us to each other in the human family. Thank you for being with us in all our joys and sorrows, for your comfort in our sadness, your companionship in our loneliness. Thank you for yesterday, today, tomorrow, and for the whole of our lives. Thank you for friends, for health, and for grace. May we live this and every day conscious of all that has been given to us."

– From The Catholic Prayer Book, compiled by Msgr. Michael Buckley

Heavenly Father, on Thanksgiving Day, we bow our hearts to You and pray. We give You thanks for all You've done, especially for the gift of Jesus, Your Son. For beauty in nature, Your glory we see, for joy and health, friends, and family. For daily provision, Your mercy and care, these are the blessings You graciously share. So today we offer this response of praise with a promise to follow You all of our days.

– Mary Fairchild

"We thank you for the turkey, the gravy, and the dressing. Dear Lord, this table overflows with Thy abundant blessing. Let us always be aware that all gifts come from You, and may we serve Your heavenly will in everything we do. Amen."

– Joanna Fuchs

"Be present at our table, Lord. Be here and everywhere adored. Thy creatures bless and grant that we may feast in paradise with Thee."

– John Cennick

"O God, we thank you for this earth, our home; For the wide sky and the blessed sun, for the salt sea and the running water, for the everlasting hills and the never-resting winds, for trees and the common grass underfoot. We thank you for our senses by which we hear the songs of birds, and see the splendor of the summer fields, and taste of the autumn fruits, and rejoice in the feel of the snow, and smell the breath of the spring. Grant us a heart wide open to all this beauty, and save our souls from being so blind that we pass unseeing when even the common thornbush is aflame with your glory. O God our creator, Who lives and reigns for ever and ever."

– Walter Rauschenbusch

"Our Father in Heaven, we give thanks for the pleasure of gathering together for this occasion. We give thanks for this food prepared by loving hands. We give thanks for life, the freedom to enjoy it all, and all other blessings. As we partake of this food, we pray for health and strength to carry on and try to live as You would have us. This we ask in the name of Christ, Our Heavenly Father."

– Harry Jewell

"Thank You, God, for the food we are about to eat, for those who are here to share these blessings, for the generosity of our hosts that make this possible. Bless those who are here and those who are in our hearts, and all those who are not as fortunate on this day. Amen."

– Patricia Gore

"O God, when I have food, help me to remember the hungry. When I have work, help me to remember the jobless. When I have a home, help me to remember those who have no home at all. When I am without pain, help me to remember those who suffer. And remembering, help me to destroy my complacency, bestir my compassion, and be concerned enough to help, by word and deed, those who cry out for what we take for granted. Amen."

– Samuel F. Pugh

For each new morning with its light, for rest and shelter of the night, for health and food, for love and friends, for everything Thy goodness sends.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

"For food in a world where many walk in hunger; For faith in a world where many walk in fear; For friends in a world where many walk alone; We give you thanks, O Lord."

– Author Unknown

"Let us therefore proclaim our gratitude to Providence for manifold blessings — let us be humbly thankful for inherited ideals — and let us resolve to share those blessings and those ideals with our fellow human beings throughout the world. On that (this) day let us gather in sanctuaries dedicated to worship and in homes blessed by family affection to express our gratitude for the glorious gifts of God; and let us earnestly and humbly pray that He will continue to guide and sustain us in the great unfinished tasks of achieving peace, justice, and understanding among all men and nations and of ending misery and suffering wherever they exist."

– President John F. Kennedy

"O Gracious God, we give you thanks for your overflowing generosity to us. Thank you for the blessings of the food we eat and especially for this feast today. Thank you for our home and family and friends, especially for the presence of those gathered here. Thank you for our health, our work, and our play. Please send help to those who are hungry, alone, sick and suffering war and violence. Open our hearts to your love. We ask your blessing through Christ your son. Amen."

– Mary Cronk Farrell

"We thank you, Lord, for food and friends, and for all of the joy this holiday lends. It's Thanksgiving Day and we can see the blessings you've provided our family. Thanks to you, Lord, for another good year; When you watch over us, there's nothing to fear."

– Karl Fuchs

"Lord, so often times, as any other day, when we sit down to our meal and pray, we hurry along and make fast the blessing, thanks, amen, now please pass the dressing. We're slaves to the olfactory overload, we must rush our prayer before the food gets cold. But Lord, I'd like to take a few minutes more, to really give thanks to what I'm thankful for. For my family, my health, a nice soft bed. My friends, my freedom, a roof over my head. I'm thankful right now to be surrounded by those whose lives touch me more than they'll ever possibly know. Thankful Lord, that You've blessed me beyond measure. Thankful that in my heart lives life's greatest treasure. That You, dear Jesus, reside in that place and I'm ever so grateful for Your unending grace. So please, heavenly Father, bless this food You've provided, and bless each and every person invited. Amen!"

– Scott Wesemann

"Oh God, source and giver of all things, you manifest your infinite majesty, power and goodness in the earth about us: We give you honor and glory. For the sun and the rain, for the manifold fruits of our fields: for the increase of our herds and flocks, we thank you. For the enrichment of our souls with divine grace, we are grateful. Supreme Lord of the harvest, graciously accept us and the fruits of our toil, in union with Jesus, your Son, as atonement for our sins, for the growth of your Church, for peace and love in our homes, and for salvation for all. We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen."

– From Living God’s Justice: Reflections and Prayers, compiled by The Roundtable Association of Diocesan Social Action Directors

"Father, we thank you for your abundant mercy and grace toward us. We honor you this day as we gather together in a family full of gratitude. We thank you for this meal and the hands that prepared it. We thank you for your bountiful provisions. We ask that you equip and encourage us to serve others who are in need. May we be good stewards of your creation and of all our talents and blessings. We proclaim glory and honor to you. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen."

– Madge P. Williams