A Prayer of Thanksgiving for America
By Lynette Kittle
Bible Reading:
“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name; make known among the nations what He has done.” - Psalm 105:1
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Sadly, many Americans have never heard the truth of how God was faithful to lead Christians who longed to openly serve Him, leave their homelands and everything behind, and risk their lives to set sail for a New World.
Historian Rod Gragg explains in The Pilgrim Chronicles how, in England around 1606, the Pilgrims began as a group of Christian separatists seeking to worship Jesus in the purity of the Gospel, based on their beliefs and understanding of the Geneva Bible.
However, meeting outside the Church of England was illegal and prohibited, resulting in harsh persecution for the Pilgrims. Fleeing to Holland around 1609 was short-lived, as their children were being influenced to follow worldly Dutch ways in the Netherlands, prompting the Pilgrims to seek new living options.
In hearing of the Jamestown settlement, the Pilgrims set out to borrow funds and request King James’ permission to make the Mayflower voyage. Receiving the right to travel across the Atlantic Ocean gave them the opportunity to sail to the New World, where they hoped to find a permanent home where they could openly and peacefully worship Jesus.
Today, America is a testament of what God has done in America through the faith of the Pilgrims. Our nation’s foundation was laid in biblical truth by the Pilgrims and led America’s Founders to base our nation and government on godly principles. These biblical truths have given us the right to worship God freely and without reserve.
Prayer and fasting played a major role in helping America to establish its freedom, with the first Americans practicing James 4:10 on a national level, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.”
Before the United States was officially established, historical documents record how national days of Thanksgiving were observed, asking colonists to express gratefulness to God for His divine protection over the troops.
In 1789, President George Washington issued the first official United States Thanksgiving proclamation, calling upon all Americans to demonstrate gratitude to God for the end of the war and the successful ratification of the Constitution.
President Washington said, “Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.”
Following Washington’s example, Presidents John Adams and James Madison also set national days of Thanksgiving aside during their presidential terms.
During the Civil War, due to the persistent campaign of one woman to have it proclaimed, Thanksgiving formally became a national holiday. In 1827, Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor and author of the “Mary Had a Little Lamb” nursery rhyme, began a campaign to establish a national Thanksgiving Day holiday in the United States. As a widow and mother of five children, Hale wrote, “Thanksgiving Day is the national pledge of Christian faith in God, acknowledging Him as the dispenser of blessings.”
After 36 years of relentlessly pursuing it through publishing editorials, along with personally writing newspaper editors, ministers, governors, and presidents requesting they set a day aside, President Abraham Lincoln, on October 3, 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, granted her request by proclaiming the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving.
Let’s Pray:
Dear Father,
We lift our voices to praise and give thanks to You for America. It is because of Your hand leading the Pilgrims to the New World that we live here now.
Thank you, dear Lord, for establishing America on godly principles, a nation dedicated to following Your ways and committed to giving us religious freedom to worship You freely.
Remind Americans this Thanksgiving Day how Christians were led by You to sail and settle this land for Your glory.
Strengthen and restore America’s godly foundation and heritage, leading our leaders to return to Your word and truth in writing laws, handing down judicial decisions, and ruling over the people.
Thank You for the Salvation You freely give to us through Jesus Christ, a gift from You, and nothing that we can receive through our own efforts.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
Share your reflections on today’s devotional in the Your Daily Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Drazen Zigic
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.
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