On this day when we in the United States celebrate Thanksgiving, the invitation to prayer is simple: to recognize that all good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights. Everything we have and everything that we are comes from God as pure gift, and this recognition of the giftedness of our lives leads us to bless the Lord every day, and to praise his name forever and ever.
Perhaps we can think of the Lord’s gifts in different ways:
(1) the material gifts and blessings we have received from the Lord, as this holiday encourages us;
(2) the people in our lives who have loved and cared for us, showing God’s face of love to us;
(3) the experiences in our lives, both joyful and even painful, that have led us to call on, to praise, and to serve God;
(4) the gifts of the Lord’s grace, comfort, and peace, especially in times of trouble or turmoil.
Seeing all these ways that God has labored for us and has desired to give us of his very life, let us consider how we might praise and serve him in a response of love.