my words can’t carry all the praise

November 27, 2025November 26, 2025 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

The Thankful Poor, H.O. Tanner, via Wikimedia Commons

Glorious God,

how curious

and what a confession

that we should set aside one day a year

and call it Thanksgiving.

I smile at the presumption,

and hope you smile, too.

The the truth is,

Holy Friend,

that my words can’t carry all the praise

I want them to,

of that they should,

no matter how many trips they make.

So this day,

all is praise and thanks

for all my days.

I breathe and it is your breath that fills me.

I look and it is your light by which I see.

I move and it is your energy moving in me.

I listen and even stones speak of you.

I touch and you are between finger and skin.

I think and the thoughts are but sparks

from the fire of your truth.

I love and the throb is your presence.

I laugh and it is the rustle of your passing.

I weep and your Spirit broods over me.

I long and it is the tug of your kingdom.

I praise you, Glorious One,

for what has been, and is and will ever be:

for galaxy upon galaxy, mass and energy,

earth and air, sun and night,

sea and shore, mountain and valley,

root and branch, male and female,

creature upon creature in a thousand ingenious ways,

two-legged, hundred legged, smooth, furry, and feathery,

bull-frogs and platypuses, peacocks and preachers,

and turkeys (especially the roasted kind)

and families gathered, and the thanking;

the brave, lonely one, and the asking;

the growling, hungry ones, and the sharing.

O Glorious One,

for this curious day,

for the impulses that have designated it,

for the gifts that grace it,

for the gladness that accompanies it,

for my life,

for those through whom I came to be,

for friends though whom I hear and see

greater worlds than otherwise I would,

for all the doors of words and music and worship

through which I pass to larger worlds,

and for the One who brought a kingdom to me,

I pause to praise and thank you

with this one more trip of words

which leaves too much uncarried,

but not unfelt,

unlived,

unloved,

Thank you!

Ted Loder, 1930-2021, American Methodist minister

Guerrillas of Grace Prayers for the Battle, slightly edited

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Psalm 103:1-5

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

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receiving with humility

October 18, 2025 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

photo by KATRIN BOLOVTSOVA via Pexels

What do we have heavenly Father,

that we have not received from you?

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,

coming down from the Father of lights.

And because everything we have is yours

– whether for body or soul –

how can we be proud, boasting about things

that are not even our own?

And as you give, so you are also able to take away again.

And you will, when your gifts are abused, won’t you?

If we fail to acknowledge that you are the giver?

So take away all my arrogance and pride.

Instead, graft in true humility,

so I may know that you are the giver of all good things,

and be thankful for them,

and use them for your glory and the good of my neighbor.

Grant also that I may not glory in earthly creatures,

but in you alone.

You bring mercy, equity, and righteousness on earth,

and to you alone be all glory, amen.

Thomas Becon, 1511–1567, English Protestant reformer Norfolk

Grace from Heaven Prayers of the Reformers

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James 1:16-17

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,

coming down from the Father of lights,

with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change

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Good Shepherd of us all

May 13, 2025May 12, 2025 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

image by Lawrence OP via Flickr

Good Shepherd of us all,
I thank you today for all the good shepherds in my life
and for all the ways you’ve shepherded me
through their love, their watchful presence,
their devotion and protection…

I thank you for my parents, my first shepherds;
I thank you for their protection, for the shelter of their love,
and for all they sacrificed
to help me grow…

I thank you for other shepherds in my family
and for all my friends
who comfort and challenge me,
who dry my tears and make me laugh,
who walk faithfully close by my side…

I thank you for all the shepherds
who taught me in school,
who counseled and directed me,
who shaped me and helped me to become
the person I am today…

I thank you for shepherds
whose names I don’t know, who stand in harm’s way
’round my town and ’round the world,
standing guard all day long to keep me safe,
keeping vigil while I sleep without a worry…

I thank you Lord, for the shepherds who care
for the sick and dying sheep among us,
who bind up wounds,
who bring comfort to those in pain,
who speed the path to health
or ease the path to end of days…
I thank you for the shepherds you’ve called home,
especially those gone much too soon,
whose gentle shepherd’s crook I miss,
whose presence still abides within my heart…

I thank you for the shepherds, Lord,
who remember me in prayer,
lifting up my name and needs to you;
who keep me in the sheepfold of your grace,
you, my gentle Shepherd,
Good Shepherd of us all…
Amen.

Fr. Austin Fleming, Roman Catholic Priest in Massachusetts

Concord Pastor Comments

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John 10:14-15

I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—

just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—

and I lay down my life for the sheep.

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our feeble reality

June 7, 2024June 6, 2024 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

image by Ray ZHUANG via Unsplash

Lord God, the strongest and brightest of us

are as fragile as a floating bubble,

unsteady as a newborn kitten on a waxed kitchen floor.

If we keep our footing in the shaky space

between our arrival and departure from this world

we owe our survival – not to mention our success – to many other people

who held us up and helped us crawl or fly or muck our way through

and to You, God, who keeps breathing life into our lungs

the way a child keeps puffing air into a leaking balloon.

We take our every step in the energy of mercy . . .

We see each flower, taste each drop of water,

sense the presence of each person around us,

through your gift of consciousness.

For all this may we be grateful.

Lewis Smedes, 1921 – 2002, American ethicist and author in the Reformed tradition

Prayers for Today, slightly modified

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Isaiah 40:10-11

Yes, the Sovereign Lord is coming in power.
He will rule with a powerful arm.
See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd.
He will carry the lambs in his arms,
holding them close to his heart.
He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.

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Thanksgiving for Jesus

November 23, 2023November 23, 2023 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

image

Eternal God, our heavenly Father,

From whom comes every good and perfect gift,

we thank and praise your name for all your mercies,

and for every blessing we have received from you.

We praise you, God, for health and strength,

for food and raiment,

for shelter, friends, and family,

for comfort in sorrow, deliverance from danger,

strength in weakness, help in adversity,

consolation in affliction.

For all the tokens of your faithfulness,

and for all the proofs of your mercy and love, we praise you.

We give you thanks, O God, for your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

No one in history compares with him.

He is the Good Shepherd –

the One who has guided us each step of the way.

He is the Rock of Refuge –

the One who has held us securely when all around was sinking.

He is the Bread of Life –

the One who has satisfied our soul’s hunger.

He is the Light of the World –

the One who has delivered us from spiritual darkness.

He is the Resurrection –

the One who is our life and our life to come.

Wendell C. Hawley, American pastor

A Pastor Prays for this People

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Colossians 3:15-17

And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.

For as members of one body you are called to live in peace.

And always be thankful.
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives.

Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives.

Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.

And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus,

giving thanks through him to God the Father.

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humble thankfulness

November 26, 2021 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

We thank you, Lord God and Father, Creator of heaven and earth,

for all your good gifts which we, O Father of lights,

have received from you, and receive daily from your generous hand

you who have clothed our bodies with the needed covering

and satisfied them with the natural bread

through Jesus Christ, your dearly beloved Son, our Lord,

We humbly pray, dear beloved Father, that you would look upon us, your children,

persecuted for the sake of your holy Gospel,

and earnestly desiring in our weakness to live devoutly in this world.

Be pleased to keep us in your Word, in fatherly fashion,

in order that to the end of our days we may remain constant in your Gospel,

revealed by you to the plain and simple

and hidden to the wise ones in this world.

Menno Simons, 1496-1561, Dutch Anabaptist leader & founder of the Mennonites

2000 Years of Prayer freely modified

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James 1:17-18

Every good and perfect gift is from above,

coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,

who does not change like shifting shadows.

He chose to give us birth through the word of truth,

that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

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to celebrate Christ’s victory

January 4, 2021January 3, 2021 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Thanks be to God, the almighty,

the king of the universe, for all his mercies,

and heartfelt thanks to the Savior and Redeemer of our souls,

Jesus Christ, through whom we pray

that his peace may keep us stable and unshaken

from troubles outside and troubles within the heart.

Let me obediently sing aloud the new song,

because after those terrifying dark sights and stories

I was now privileged to see and celebrate such things

that many righteous men and martyrs of God before us

desired to see on earth and did not see,

and to hear and did not hear.

But they attained far better things in heaven; whereas I,

acknowledging that even my present lot is better than I deserve,

have been more than amazed at the bountiful grace of its author,

and am duly filled with wonder,

worshipping him with my soul’s full strength.

Eusebius of Caesarea, c. 260- c.340, Christian historian and bishop

2000 Years of Prayer freely modified

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Revelation 12:10-12

And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

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working with excellence

September 17, 2020September 16, 2020 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Work is anchored in your character, and part of being made is your image is sharing the industrious and creative aspects of your nature. You are a God of excellence and commitment, and I long to exhibit those same qualities, especially at work. Some days my job is great, and other days I feel unmotivated or stressed. But I know that whatever task I am called upon to do, I have an opportunity to demonstrate a divine standard of excellence and commitment, both to my assignments and to those around me.

Lord, please teach me to work diligently and with enthusiasm at whatever I do, whether I’m on the job or at home with my family. When I think of my daily tasks as having been assigned by you, I find myself working for your approval, and I am often proud of the work I do. But more important, God, I want you to be proud of me. I’m so thankful that I have an opportunity to show creativity and responsibility in each task of my day. Please help my efforts be an inspiration for others to glorify you in all they do each day.

Ron A. Beers

365 Pocket Prayers

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Colossians 3:22-25

Servants, do what you’re told by your earthly masters. And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work.

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