October 5, 2023 - The Episcopal Church in Delaware

Prayer of General Thanksgiving

Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love.

We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side.

We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us.

We furthermore thank you for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence upon your mercies alone.

Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.

Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know him and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.

Psalm 105

Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name; *

make known his deeds among the peoples.

Sing to him, sing praises to him, *

and speak of all his marvelous works.

Glory in his holy Name; *

let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Search for the Lord and his strength; *

continually seek his face.

Remember the marvels he has done, *

his wonders and the judgments of his mouth,

O offspring of Abraham his servant, *

O children of Jacob his chosen.

He is the Lord our God; *

his judgments prevail in all the world.

He has always been mindful of his covenant, *

the promise he made for a thousand generations:

The covenant he made with Abraham, *

the oath that he swore to Isaac,

Which he established as a statute for Jacob, *

an everlasting covenant for Israel,

Saying, “To you will I give the land of Canaan *

to be your allotted inheritance.”

When they were few in number, *

of little account, and sojourners in the land,

Wandering from nation to nation *

and from one kingdom to another,

He let no one oppress them *

and rebuked kings for their sake,

Saying, “Do not touch my anointed *

and do my prophets no harm.”

Then he called for a famine in the land *

and destroyed the supply of bread.

He sent a man before them, *

Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

They bruised his feet in fetters; *

his neck they put in an iron collar.

Until his prediction came to pass, *

the word of the Lord tested him.

The king sent and released him; *

the ruler of the peoples set him free.

He set him as a master over his household, *

as a ruler over all his possessions,

To instruct his princes according to his will *

and to teach his elders wisdom.

Image: “Red chrysanthemum” by Benjamin D. Esham (bdesham) is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Greetings from the Episcopal Church in Delaware