Gracious Lord,
Every good gift we have
comes from You.

You turn our mourning into dancing
and our distress into delight.

You find us in our lament
and You whisper, “I Am here.”

May You open our ears
so that we can hear
Your encouragement,
Your blessing,
Your promises.

Like Hannah, let us
look to You as our source
and rejoice in whatever cup—
whether bitter, bland, or beautiful—
You ask us to drink.

You are our strength,
You are our portion.

Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Genuine Lord,
Let us not get caught up in prediction,
in looking ahead,
in seeking to figure it all out.

Let us trust You today
that You will bring us into tomorrow.

You are the Real.
You are the Truth.
You and only You.

When we are tempted to look
for confidence and confirmation
in anything but You,
gently nudge us back.

You alone have
the Words of Life.

Speak them to our hearts
so that we may
speak them with our mouths,
that the world may know Your Truth.

Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Generous Lord,
As we gather this week
with family and friends
to celebrate thankfulness,
and enjoy the prelude of eternity,
we first offer our thanks to You.

We thank You for
friends and family,
supply and sustenance,
redemption and restoration.

Whatever we have,
it is Yours.

For those among us
who take joy in this season,
we pray You would be that joy.

For those among us
who look at Thanksgiving
and see only hurt, pain, and despair,
we pray You would be their peace
until we all gather together
in Your kingdom in thanksgiving.

We pray again for those in California
who have lost everything:
homes, keepsakes, their very lives.
In this season when they’ve lost so much,
help them see all they have in You.

All this we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.