O Good and Gracious God, source of all life,
the autumn season is all around us now,
beautiful in vivid colors of scarlet and gold.
We have heard Your Spirit in the rustling leaves,
and we have seen Your creating wonder in the colors of the trees.
We are so grateful for a generous harvest,
for seeds of many kinds, sown and multiplied,
for the sufficiency we enjoy.
We are grateful for the creation
which nourishes and sustains all that lives.
We know we cannot transform or sow seeds with clenched fists.
Help us to open our hands, to let go of grasping,
that we too may scatter with hope and generosity
our seeds of love, peace, and joy.
So may the fruits of our harvest be
for the sharing of the earth
and the blessing of Your love.
This morning, we lift our hands and voice to worship You,
in thanksgiving and praise,
for all the goodness and loving-kindness
that You so freely pour out on us with every passing day.
Thank You for the grace that You supply,
moment-by-moment and day-by-day.
We humbly ask for You to develop in our souls
a true attitude of gratitude
and a heart that acknowledges the ever-present way
that You are working in so many areas of our lives.
As we hand over our complaints,
and turn our worries into praises,
may Your powerful peace overwhelm our hearts.
Renew in us the sense of valuing gratitude as a lifestyle,
not merely as a choice we make,
or words we say.
Lord, we humbly ask You to keep our hearts
filled to the brim with appreciation
for how You guide us in the midst of chaos and calamity.
Develop in us a godly attitude of gratefulness
so that we may never cease to praise You
for Your gracious goodness to all people.
We thank You for the good days,
where we rejoice in Your abundant goodness.
We thank You for the bad days,
the days we place our vulnerability before You,
and You transform us into who You want us to be.
We thank You for all the days in between,
where we abide in You, and You abide in us.
May we learn to recognize that all the gifts and graces we have
are a result of Your loving-kindness towards us,
and may we never cease to lift up our hands and voices to You
in a cornucopia of plenty praise.
May we center our gratitude and our beings on the Lord Jesus,
for His ultimate gift to be glorified in all we say and do.
Maker of the fields, forests, and streams,
Your generous goodness comes to us new every day.
By the movement of Your Spirit
over our waters, at our tables, and among our gatherings,
help us to acknowledge Your goodness,
give thanks for Your gifts,
extend our table to the stranger,
and care for all of Your creation we share on this good earth.
We pray these words through Jesus the Christ,
the fruitful vine,
our living water,
and our bread of life,
who taught us to pray by saying these words:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
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