Prayer of Thanksgiving

Jace and his mom walked on the path in the park. Jace loves to be outdoors. The sky was blue with a few wispy clouds. The park had green grass, big trees, and pretty flowers. The huge park has a lake with fish, ducks, and geese. He loved to play on the playground which was on the other end of the park. Jace enjoyed the long walk through the park.

His mom used this time to teach Jace about the plants, flowers, and animals they came accross. Today was no exception. As they walked, hand in hand, she asked him the names of the flowers and animals they saw. He remembered their names.

A sparrow bird up in a tree said, “Tweet, Tweet.” paused and continued, “Tweet, twitter, tweet, tweet.”

“Jace, what do you think the bird is saying.?” asked his mom.

He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“She’s probably saying, ‘Thank you for the beautiful morning.’”

Farther on their walk, they heard a squirrel in a tree.

Smiling Jace asked, “What did the squirrel say?”

“He said, ‘Thank you for the tasty nuts.”

Jace thought about that as they walked farther. When they rounded the curve, there stood the lake. The lake was a deep blue and lapped against the shore. Overhead flew a few geese. “Honk, honk, honk, honk!”

“Those geese are saying, ‘Thank you for the gift of flight!’” said his mom.

Jace frowned. “Who are the animals thanking?”

“The Lord.” answered his mom.

“Why are they thanking the Lord?” asked Jace.

Jace, who created the world?”

“God.”

“Who created the plants and animals?”

“God did.”

“That’s right. God, the Lord, created this beautiful world we live in. They are telling Him thank you for what He has done.”

“Mom, does God hear them?”

“Yes, like He hears you when you talk to Him, even when you use your silent inside voice. You can tell God anything. When you are afraid, sad, worried, any feeling, even when you are angry. He listens and will help you through those times.”

Jace nodded.

“Remember yesterday when you brought me my tea I'd left in the kitchen?”

Jace nodded.

“I didn’t ask for my tea, but you saw it and knew I had just sat down in the living room. What did I do when you gave the to me?”

Jace said, “You took it and put it down on the table. Then you gave me a hug and said, ‘Thank you, I needed that.’”

“How did that make you feel?” asked his mom.

Jace smiled. “Good.”

“I bet you felt appreciated. God loves to hear us say, thank you, too. He has done many wonderful things for us and wants to hear us say those simple things. Thanking him should be part of our prayer. We have a tendency to only ask for things from God, when what we should do is thank Him and praise Him.”

“Mom, should we do that now?”

“Why not?”

Together in the park, they sat down and told the Lord “Thank you.”

Boys and girls, do you thank the Lord in your prayers? Thanking him is what the Lord wants us to do.

Memorize: 1 Chronicles 16:8-9 Give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; talk of His wondrous works!

Verses in NKJV unless otherwise stated.