Use one of these 7 Thanksgiving dinner prayers to say grace before the meal at your holiday table.
Start Your Thanksgiving Meal with a Prayer
Thanksgiving is a meaningful holiday because it’s the one day of the year when we all take the time to express appreciation for how God is working in our lives.
Your Thanksgiving gathering might be small or large, loud or quiet, but no matter the style, every gathering is significant in its own way. Typically, at Thanksgiving dinner we say a word of gratitude for what God has done for us.
Thanksgiving is sometimes known to be a landmine of family tension because of the coming together of different political views, beliefs, and behaviors. Take heart – the prayers below are meaningful yet not offensive.
In the post 7 Prayers to Say at the Dinner Table, I listed prayers you can use with your family at dinner every night. The best prayers are those that are simple, meaningful, and ones you can use regularly.
Be sure to download our free The Holy Mess Thanksgiving Printable Planner to make your holiday organized and beautiful and The Thanksgiving Action Plan to make healthy choices while you enjoy the holiday.
7 Thanksgiving Dinner Prayers of Blessing and Gratitude
Use one of these Thanksgiving prayers for your holiday gathering this year to say a prayer of grace for those gathered together.
1. Short Prayer for Thanksgiving Dinner
God,
Thank you for all that you’ve given us.
Bless the cook and bless all those who go without.
Amen.
-from Fr. Jake Martin, SJ
2. A Thanksgiving Prayer from Ralph Waldo Emerson
Thanksgiving Prayer
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 (1803-1882)
3. Traditional Table Blessing (Catholic)
Bless us, Oh Lord,
and these thy gifts which
we are about to receive from thy bounty,
through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.
4. Thanksgiving Blessing Prayer for Food
O Lord,
Thank you for all the good gifts you have given us.
Thank you for the fine delicate balance of the natural world.
Thank you for the amazing variety of fruit seeds and grains.
Thank you for the beauty of autumn when the greens turn yellow, gold and crimson.
Lord, help us to enjoy this beautiful season,
And the wonderful food you have given us.
Amen.
From www.lords-prayer-words.com
5. Thanksgiving Prayer for Children and Family
(a prayer for young children to say)
Lord, thank you for the flowers and thank you for the trees.
Thank you for my special friends and all the fun they bring.
Thank you for the food I eat and thank you for my drink.
But most of all I thank you for the way you love me.
A childrens prayer from www.lords-prayer-words.com
6. Christian Thanksgiving Day Table Blessing
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.
7. A Simple Prayer of Thanks
God, sometimes life gets me down and I find it hard to see things to be thankful for. Open my eyes to see the gifts you’ve given me in my life. I’m going to start by thanking you for loving me enough to come to earth and die so we can live together forever. Amen.
– Wendy van Eyck, Contributor, crosswalk.com
Answers to Your FAQ (Questions) about a Thanksgiving Table Prayer
Here are answers to common questions about Thanksgiving blessings and prayers.
How do you say grace on Thanksgiving? What do you say when saying grace?
If you are asked to “say grace” before a Thanksgiving meal, that simply means to say a few words of blessing, thanks, or often a prayer thanking God for blessings of that meal and the year before. You can read a prayer (such as the ones above) or write your own. I suggest saying, “Let us pray,” or “please bow your head for prayer,” and then saying the prayer. People can each fold their own hands or you can all join hands.
What prayer do you say before eating?
There is no one correct prayer for before eating. You may read a pre-written prayer of someone else or you can say one of your own. If you are new to prayer, be sure to check out this post that covers the basics of how to pray.
How do you thank God with a prayer?
A very simple way to thank God with a prayer is to say, “Dear God, thank you for…” and fill in the blank with things you are thankful for today. Include items both big and small.
More Thanksgiving Prayers
Here are links to a few other prayers you might find useful.
Digging Deeper with God – A Thanksgiving Prayer – This prayer is wonderful to read yourself on Thanksgiving morning or share with a group before the meal. Includes a free printable.
A Prayer for Your Thanksgiving Meal – Living Grace Omaha – This prayer begins with a child or children reading a Psalm and the adults following with a prayer.
What prayers do you say at the Thanksgiving dinner table? Share in the comments below.
More Thanksgiving Posts for You
The 3 Movies You MUST Watch Every Thanksgiving
30 Day Thanksgiving and Gratitude Bible Verse Reading Plan
How to Make a Thanksgiving Memories Tablecloth
The Holy Mess Printable Thanksgiving Planner
7 Prayers to Say at the Dinner Table
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