A Prayer For Thanksgiving Day

Scotty Smith:

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 2 Cor. 9:15

“… the boundless riches of Christ…” Eph. 3:8

Dear heavenly Father, of all the many things for which we’re grateful today, none surpasses the “indescribable gift” of the gospel. You loved us so much you sent Jesus into the world to be our Savior—not principally as our moral model to imitate, but as our perfect Substitute to receive and trust.

We proclaim with the deepest humility and the greatest joy, “Salvation belongs to the Lord!” From beginning to end, our relationship with you, today and forever, is entirely a gift of your sovereign and immeasurable grace. What we could never do for ourselves, Jesus has accomplished for us, once and for all. Hallelujah, many times over!

We needed forgiveness for all the ways we failed (and continue to fail) to love, worship, and obey you, as you deserve and as your law decrees. And through the finished work of Jesus on the cross, you have forgiven us completely. We will never be more forgiven than we are today… never! All of our sins—past, present, and future, are completely forgiven—not just the small percentage we’re aware of, but also the vast majority of which we remain clueless. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

We also needed righteousness—a perfect righteousness. All of our best efforts and good works, our hottest tears of repentance and our most sacrificial acts of obedience, our commitment to do more and try harder, and our resolve to sin less and be more godly availed us nothing.

But before he died in our place on the cross as the Lamb of God, Jesus lived in our place as the second Adam—offering you his life of perfect obedience to you on our behalf. And now, through the gift of faith you’ve freely given us, to believe in Jesus and to trust him, you have declared us to be righteous in Christ. Every sinful thing we have ever done (or will do) was nailed to his Jesus’ cross, and every righteous thing Jesus accomplished in life, is now considered to be something we did! Hallelujah, many times over!

What a glorious exchange—Jesus got our sin and we got his righteousness. What a glorious gospel we have. What a glorious God you are. What a magnificent Thanksgiving Day this is. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus wonderful and merciful name.