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A THANK YOU GOD LITANTY
By Uriah J. Fields
A Declaration of Thanksgiving
To say "I am blessed" is good,
To say "God is good' is better,
To say "Thank You God" is best of all.
The latter transcends the former two
by acknowledging God for no greater
reason than He is God.
O gracious and holy God,
In your presence and with thankful
hearts we offer to you this Sacrament
of gratitude.
We acknowledge You as the Giver
of all good things and the bestower
of our manifold blessings;
We are aware that your goodness
is great and your blessings are
numerous, too many for us to
enumerate one-by-one;
Yet, O God in this prayer of
thanksgiving, at this particular time,
we want to thank You for some
specific gifts You have showered
upon us:
We begin with life, our lives, we
are still among the living,
The health and strength that we
possess,
The food, clothing, shelter and
safety we enjoy today and have
enjoyed in days gone by,
For all these we joyfully proclaim
not just with our mouths but with
our lives, "Thank You God;"
Our mothers' tender-loving care
expressed in more ways than we
can say,
The strength and protective
eyes of our fathers,
The knowledge and wisdom we
have received from teachers in
schools and beyond the school
walls,
The ministers and spiritual leaders
who proclaimed good news to us
and by their examples let us know
how to be responsible and live
righteous lives,
Our playmates who helped us to
know the beauty of laughter and
how to be spontaneous,
The moving stories we have
heard, sometimes sad but mostly
happy ones, that helped us to
better know the storytellers and
understand ourselves,
Those from many walks of life
who revealed to us the power of
faith and prayer,
The tears we have shed, both
tears of joy and tears of sorrow,
For the suffering that has
empowered us in ways that only
suffering can, making us strong
and able to endure life's
challenges;
For all these we joyfully proclaim,
not just with our mouths but with
our lives, "Thank You God;"
We have confidence and
assurance that You who have
brought us this far is not going to
leave us now or as long as we
exercise faith and hold fast the
gift of salvation,
We know Who You are and
Whose we are; You are our Father,
In your presence we will abide
and with eternal hope claim
victory.
For all these we joyfully proclaim,
not just with our mouths but with
our lives, "Thank You God;"
And so it is.
Copyright 2006 by Uriah J. Fields.
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