Thanksgiving Prayer of A Puritan Pastor

Below is a prayer of one of the Puritan pastors who served in then 1600s.

May this man's prayer become our own as we look out on a world filled with hatred, strife and injustice.

If you have never read the book titled "The Valley Of Vision" I highly recommend it because it contains a collection of Puritan pastor's prayers. 

These prayers are Bible based, heartfelt, impassioned pleas of men who cared deeply for others as they loved and served God.

Bob

Also, I published 8 Thanksgiving lessons on November 11, 2024, for your families devotional use. 

O My God,

 

Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects, my heart admires, adores, loves thee, for my little vessel is as full as it can be, and I would pour out all that fullness before thee in ceaseless flow.

 

When I think upon and converse with thee, ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up, ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed, ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart, crowding into every moment of happiness.

 

I bless thee for:

the soul thou hast created, for adorning it, sanctifying it, though it is fixed in barren soil;

for the body thou hast given me, for preserving its strength and vigour, for providing senses to enjoy delights, for the ease and freedom of my limbs, for hands, eyes, ears that do thy bidding;

for thy royal bounty providing my daily support,

for a full table and overflowing cup,

for appetite, taste, sweetness,

for social joys of relatives and friends,

for ability to serve others,

for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities,

for a mind to care for my fellow-men,

for opportunities of spreading happiness around,

for loved ones in the joys of heaven,

for my own expectation of seeing thee clearly.

I love thee above the powers of language to express, for what thou art to thy creatures.

 

Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity.

 

From: Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions, ed. Arthur Bennett (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2002), 26-27.