Prayers of Thanksgiving

Overview

In the Christian tradition, essential forms of prayer, including prayers of thanksgiving and prayers of praise, nurture the spiritual life of believers. For Christians, a primary role of prayer is praise and thanksgiving to a God who knows and cares for each person individually. (CLPS8)

While to start with students can use the simplest for “Thank you, God for…… Teachers can begin to model the simple use of the “You-Who-Do-Through” framework for all prayer when composing prayers of thanks.

e.g. Generous God, thank you for our class- for our friends, for feeling safe and happy, for all the new things we learn each day. May we use all that we learn to help our world to be a better place. We make this prayer through Jesus, our brother. Amen.

Also, it is an opportunity to expand the students’ repertoire of things for which they are grateful: for example, taking them beyond pets and family. They can be grateful for the weather, for their education; for their health; for their school and friends; for living in peace in this country; for their way of life; their toys and their homes; for good food and safe drinking water; for an unpolluted environment; for Jesus coming to tell us of God’s love….a simple thing such as a prayer of thanks can incorporate other aspects of the curriculum!

You Do Who Through

YOU- begin by addressing God and/or naming God. “Loving God”, “God of Mercy”, “God who heals”, “Father in Heaven”. All prayer should address God.

WHO- name ‘WHO’ God is for us, for example: “Giver of all good gifts”, “You are always ready to forgive”, “Our strength and hope”. This is often in the form of the first task of prayer: praise and thanksgiving.

DO- we ask God to act, to ‘DO’ something: “Be with us as we gather in your name”, “Grant peace to our world”. Alternatively, in a prayer of thanks, we do something- we thank or praise God.

THROUGH- We pray to God in and THROUGH Christ, so our prayer concludes with a simple “Through Christ our Lord Amen”, or “In the name of Jesus your Son, Amen.

This pattern or structure can be used to compose a prayer for any occasion; grace, opening prayer, closing prayer, blessing.

e.g.

You: Ever-present and companion God,

Who: out of love for us, you sent Jesus to be our strength and guide.

Do: help us to hear his voice today and guide our steps in the way he has shown us, as we find you in each other

Through: We ask this in his name. Amen.