What Is Thanksgiving? A Guide to the Holiday's History (with Thanksgiving Prayers and Bible Verses)

For centuries, faithful followers of Jesus have set aside a special time each year to give thanks. What began as a sacred meal to honor God for His provision in the face of starvation, has evolved into an American holiday of feasting, often celebrated without any recognition of God at all.

For Christians, giving thanks is essential to our faith in God; how can we not be grateful for all that He has done for us? If He drew us to repentance through Jesus Christ our Lord, and offers us eternal life with Him, shouldn’t thanksgiving be on our lips at all times? Especially on a day when the country is watching how we celebrate Thanksgiving?

There is so much that we can build into our Thanksgiving holiday that will remind us of what really matters. These Bible stories, verses, and prayers can remain “top of mind” throughout the year, encouraging our ongoing expression of gratitude to our Almighty God.

What Is the History of Thanksgiving?

The history of Thanksgiving reveals how significantly the way Americans celebrate has changed over time. What began as a time of prayer to thank God through hardship and great struggle has become a time of feasting–often without gratitude to God.

According to History.com, the first Thanksgiving on American soil was not celebrated by people who had traveled from Europe, but from Mexico. The Spanish Explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado led a contingent of soldiers north into Texas in search of gold in 1541. In gratitude for their arrival, the priest who accompanied them called for a time of thanksgiving prayer.

The first Thanksgiving feasts celebrated by Native Americans and non-natives were in 1565 and 1607. The first included Spanish explorers who founded St. Augustine, Florida, and feasted with the native Timucuan people. The second was a meal shared by English colonists at Ft. St. George in Maine with the Abenaki Indians.

The Thanksgiving most commonly recorded in U.S. history books took place in 1621, when European settlers, seeking a new home, relied on the native Wampanoag people for help in growing crops. Together, they celebrated their first successful harvest with a bountiful feast. What had previously been a simple meal and prayer gathering evolved into a larger celebration, including hunting efforts “to kill as much fowl as possible in one day,” along with the sharing of several deer.

The first call for a national holiday came after George Washington became president. History.com notes that Washington “took Congress’s recommendation to call for a national day of thanksgiving and prayer in gratitude for the end of the Revolutionary War. Washington observed the holiday by attending church and then donating money and food to prisoners and debtors in New York City jails.”

In the middle of the Civil War, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln called for the last Thursday in November to be a national recurring holiday. His plea to the people was that they would solemnly observe the day “as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens,...and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.” In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the date to the third Thursday in November to promote a longer Christmas season to help the economy.

Today, people celebrate in many different ways. For most, Thanksgiving Day is a time of getting together with family and friends over a meal. For others, it’s a day to provide meals for those in need. Still others look forward to parades, football, and Black Friday shopping. But how can a Christian honor God with Thanksgiving Day, and with a heart of gratitude all year long?

What Is the Biblical Basis for Celebrating Thanksgiving?

The biblical basis for celebrating Thanksgiving lies in recognizing all that God has done—and continues to do—for the world and for each of us personally. He created us, formed the world for our good, shepherds us through every season of life, and gave His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. God promises to be with us, to be for us, and to one day bring us home to heaven if we place our faith in Jesus. When we truly grasp these truths, the only fitting response is a heart overflowing with gratitude each and every day.

The Scriptures also command or encourage us to give thanks to the Lord:

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (I Thessalonians 5:18).
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! (Psalm 100:4).
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! (Psalm 107:1).

So whether we are in a continual habit of demonstrating gratitude, or preparing our hearts for Thanksgiving, we need to keep in mind that it is God who truly deserves all of our thanks.

Biblical Examples of Gratitude

Does Thanksgiving find its origin in the Bible? By all means. There is precedent in the Bible of gathering for a special time to honor God with a feast or meal. There were meaningful, powerful feasts that God instituted for His people whom He saved from slavery in Egypt, and feasts/observances that His people initiated on their own at various times and places.

The feast days that God instituted in accordance with the covenant with His people include:

Passover– annual recognition of when the angel of God struck down the first born of Egypt, but “passed over” the Israelites who had the blood of a lamb on their doorposts as God instructed. Passover includes a special ritual meal (Seder) that tells the story of the Exodus from Egypt.
Feast of First Fruits–commemorates the first harvest the Israelites enjoyed in the land God promised them after the Exodus.
Feast of Weeks (Shavuot)--commemorates two events–the giving of the law to Moses on Mt. Sinai and the end of the wheat harvest in the promised land.
Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)--a remembrance of God sheltering the Israelites in the wilderness.

Many joyous celebrations took place elsewhere in the Bible–times of grateful prayers, singing, and dancing before God. For instance, Noah built an altar to God and sacrificed burnt offerings to recognize the One who chose to save him and his family from destruction (Genesis 8:20). King David joyously sang and danced (some said too fervently) when God allowed the Ark of the Covenant to be returned to Israel (2 Samuel 6). The book of Nehemiah tells of how the Israelites who returned from exile in Babylon rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, and then heard God’s law for the first time. When they did, they repented and renewed their covenant with God. Later, they dedicated the wall, celebrating “joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving…” (Nehemiah 12:27).

A further search would find more occasions when God’s people honored Him with their thanks. It’s a great exercise to do a word study on “thanksgiving,” “gratitude,” “gratefulness,” or other similar words to learn more about how we can honor God with prayers, songs, and thankful service to others.

How Christians Can Celebrate Thanksgiving Faithfully

If we want to be true to the Biblical meaning of gratitude, and apply that to how we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, there are several things we can do.

First, we can pray and ask God how He wants us to spend our Thanksgiving. Does He want us to be with friends and family and be a witness of His love and mercy? Does He want us to invite in people we are merely acquainted with to show hospitality? Is He calling us to forget about hosting and go out in the community to serve others in need? All can be ways that God can be glorified, if we keep Him as the center of our celebration. Perhaps one of these options is a new tradition that you can begin this Thanksgiving.

Second, we can prepare our hearts ahead of time by reading prayers and Bible verses regarding giving thanks. This meditation is also a great pre-holiday exercise. Once the holiday arrives, there are so many unique ideas for expressing what we are thankful for around the table:

Have someone set the tone with a Biblically-based, Jesus-focused prayer for everyone in attendance (if serving out in the community, don’t be shy about offering to do this for the guests).
Go around the table and ask people what they are grateful to God for this year. You can have guests prepare ahead of time by writing them on a card that they or someone else reads (in other words, mix them up and guess who wrote the sentiment). You can also spread some butcher paper on the table for kids to draw what they are thankful for (and have them explain it).
You can take the cards and cut out the butcher paper drawings and start a Thanksgiving board that you can bring out next year and compare.
Have someone read a story from the Bible (like one of the ones mentioned above) when people had great celebrations for God’s goodness. Talk about how your celebration is similar or different.
Consider a progressive Thanksgiving where one house hosts appetizers, one the main meal, and one dessert. This provides three homes where you can share the Word of God, talk about giving thanks to God year-round, and pray over those in attendance.

These articles give great ideas for inspiration to read/sing at your meal:

Or you may consider one of the following prayers before your Thanksgiving meal:

Prayers for Thanksgiving

Heavenly Father,

We come before You today to show You our deep gratitude. Thank You for the blessings of this past year—for Your presence,provision and protection, through every experience. As we gather around this table, we recognize that all good things come from You.

Thank You for the food before us, the family and friends beside us, and the love that surrounds us. Help us to be mindful of those who are hurting or in need today. May our lives reflect Your generosity and grace.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

Most Merciful God,

Thank You for another opportunity to celebrate Thanksgiving, recognizing that You are the provider of this meal. We offer ourselves–our souls and bodies–to worship You for all of Your goodness and mercy to us in the past year. Through good times and difficult days, You have been ever-present and ever-loving.

We pray that Your Holy Spirit will keep us mindful each day that there is so much that we need to express gratitude for. May we also show gratitude to those in our lives that You send our way to bless us.

We love you and thank you in Jesus’ name,
Amen.

Bible Verses for Thanksgiving

Why not consider printing Bible verses about giving thanks to God on cards to place at each table setting? These can serve as a meaningful reminder during a meal. Alternatively, they could be handed out to members of the community—especially if you’ll be out serving those in need.

thanksgiving bible verse with autumn background, pumpkin and pinecones

Here are six powerful verses that express our thankfulness to God:

Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all His benefits — who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion (Psalm 103:1-4).
And on that day you will say, "Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; make them remember that His name is exalted." Praise the LORD in song, for He has done glorious things; let this be known throughout the earth (Isaiah 12:4-5).
Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is the great God, and the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth' the heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land (Psalm 95:1-5).
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:4-7).
… but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father (Ephesians 5:18-20).
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise — the fruit of lips that openly profess His name (Hebrews 13:15).

Thanksgiving as a Lifestyle, Not Just a Holiday

It would be easy to concentrate on Thanksgiving only on the third Thursday in November each year. Yet we cheat ourselves if we do so. Thanksgiving as a lifestyle is about more than seasonal gatherings or shared meals. It is a spiritual discipline to agree with God daily that every breath and every moment is a blessing from Him–even in hard times. Each day is an opportunity to witness God’s amazing grace that should draw a “hallelujah" from us regularly. We should live out Psalm 34:1: "I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth." A lifestyle of gratitude focuses our minds on all that we have rather than on what we think is missing in our lives.

Living a life of thanksgiving to God naturally impacts the way we “love our neighbor as ourselves.” When our hearts are filled with gratitude to God, that thankfulness overflows in generosity, empathy, and genuine concern for others. Thanksgiving also comes with a powerful promise: when we present our prayers to God with thanksgiving, “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). And that is something we all desperately need.

Mary Oelerich-Meyer is a Chicago-area freelance writer and copy editor who prayed for years for a way to write about and for the Lord. She spent 20 years writing for area healthcare organizations, interviewing doctors and clinical professionals and writing more than 1,500 articles in addition to marketing collateral materials. Important work, but not what she felt called to do. She is grateful for any opportunity to share the Lord in her writing and editing, believing that life is too short to write about anything else. Previously she served as Marketing Communications Director for a large healthcare system. She holds a B.A. in International Business and Marketing from Cornell College (the original Cornell!) When not researching or writing, she loves to spend time with her writer daughter, granddaughter, rescue doggie and husband (not always in that order).

Thanksgiving for Christians: Bible Meaning, Holiday History, and How to Honor God