Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Another Thanksgiving Day is at our doorstep.
As Americans have done since the very inception of the nation, it is appropriate, as George Washington initially proclaimed in 1789 "to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor."
Prayerful gratitude is something our nation desperately needs. With the trend toward secularism and widespread dismissal of things religious, Americans need to be reminded of the providential roots of our republic with its spiritual underpinnings.
Listen to the words of yet another iconic American president, spoken in the midst of the Civil War. Said Abraham Lincoln, "We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven . . . but we have forgotten God. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us."
The nation may not be immersed in civil war, but conflicts and divisions most certainly abound. As then, it seems appropriate to pray for guidance, but above all, there should be profound expressions of gratitude. The more prayerfully grateful we are for what we have, the more successful we'll become in finding solutions to the challenges we face.
