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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Thanksgiving for Jesus

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

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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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When You open Your hand

November 24, 2022November 24, 2022 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

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Loving God,
You are our Creator and Sustainer.
When You open Your hand,
You satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.
And so we look to You whenever we are in need,
trusting in Your love and Your abundant goodness.

As You once fed the hungry crowds with five loaves and two small fish,
we ask that You would again fill those who are empty this day.
Pour out Your Spirit on all who hunger and thirst.

We pray for those who are physically hungry—whose stomachs are empty.
We think especially of the people in Somalia and Eastern Africa
who are facing critical food shortages;
who are suffering the effects of malnutrition and starvation;
and watching helplessly as loved ones die.

Lord, in Your mercy, open Your hand.
Pour out Your Spirit, so that they may be filled.

We pray for those who are empty emotionally—
who are lonely and long for companionship and love,
who are caught in the grip of depression,
or overwhelmed with grief.

Lord, in Your mercy, open Your hand.
Pour out Your Spirit, so that they may be filled.

We pray for those who are spiritually empty—
who are troubled, but don’t know where to turn;
who long for purpose and meaning, but don’t know where to look;
who need You, but do not yet know You.

Lord, in Your mercy, open Your hand.
Pour out Your Spirit, so that they may be filled.

God, we praise You for Your abundant gifts in our lives.
Pour out Your Spirit on us as well.
Fill us with Your compassion and love,
so that we would willingly share some of our abundance
with those who have need.

Lord, in Your mercy, open Your hand.
Pour out Your Spirit, so that we may be filled.

We pray in the name of Jesus Christ,
who came so that all of humanity might come to know
the abundant life that comes from You.

Amen.

Christine Longhurst, Worship Professor, Canadian Mennonite University

re-worship.blogspot.com

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Psalm 145:14-19

The Lord upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them. Continue reading →

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.

Continue reading →

a Deacon’s prayer

July 15, 2021June 14, 2025 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

I thank Thee, Lord, for sparing me to see this morning, the blood running warm in my veins, the activity of my limbs and the use of my tongue. I thank Thee, Lord, for clothing and for food, and above all, I thank Thee for the gift of your darling Son Jesus, who came all the way from heaven down to this low ground of sorrow, who died upon the cross, that “whosoever believeth upon Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Our Lord, our heavenly Master, we ask Thee to teach us. Guide us in the way we know not. Give us more faith and a better understanding and a closer walk to your bleeding side.

I have faith to believe you are the same God that was in the days that are past and gone. You heard Elijah praying in the cleft of the mountain. You heard Paul and Silas in jail. You heard the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace. I have faith to believe that you have once heard me pray, when I was laying and lugging ’round the gates of hell, no eye to pity me, no arm to save me. You reached down your long arm of protection, snatched my soul from the midst of eternal burning. You placed me in the rock and placed a new song in my mouth. You told me to go, and you would go with me; open my mouth, and you would speak for me.

For this cause we call upon you at this hour. And while we call upon you, we ask you please don’t go back to Glory, neither turn a deaf ear to our call. But turn down the kindness of a listening ear, catch our moans and our groans, and take them home to the High Heavens. We plead boldly one thing more, if it is your glorious will, I pray Thee.

Deacon Washington Banks, Gethsemane Baptist Church, 1973

The Prayer Traditions of Black People, slightly modified

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Psalm 30:8-12

To you, O Lord, I cry,
and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
“What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!
O Lord, be my helper!”

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

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bless the vaccines

May 6, 2021May 5, 2021 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for the countless ways you show us your love.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us

and giving people (those we call brilliant) a spec of your brilliance

to create vaccines that ‘help our bodies develop immunity to the virus’.

We ask you to bless the vaccines to our bodies,

for those who are already fully vaccinated

and for those who will be getting them.

We pray we will not be adversely affected – long and short term,

and, if it is in our best interests,

to only experience mild or no symptoms after receiving the vaccine.

Thank you for all the volunteers and medical community

that are tasked with administering the vaccines.

We confess our FAITH IS IN YOU and not the vaccine.

So, we also pray for those who do not feel led to get one,

that you would also give them immunity and keep them healthy.

We trust in You and your Word!

We pray this prayer in the lovely name of Jesus!
Amen!

Paula Cianci, family friend

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Psalm 91:3-6

Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.

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humble thankfulness

November 24, 2020November 23, 2020 / Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

We thank you Father, for your readiness to hear and to forgive;

for your great love to us, in spite of our unworthiness;

for the many blessings we enjoy above our deserving, hoping or asking.

You have been so good to us

despite our ingratitude, thoughtlessness, and forgetfulness of you.

For your pity, longsuffering, gentleness and tenderness,

we bow our heads in humble thankfulness of heart.

We worship you who are infinite love, infinite compassion, infinite power.

Accept our praise and gratitude; through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Amen.

Rev. C.J.N Child, English minister and headmaster

The Lion Prayer Collection

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Psalm 95:1-7

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.

Continue reading →