Thanksgiving Prayers and Grace Before Meals

The first national Thanksgiving under the Constitution, proclaimed by George Washington, fell on Thursday, November 26, 1789. Abraham Lincoln's proclamation of October 3, 1863, which set "the last Thursday of November" and began the yearly November holiday, also fell on November 26, and so does Thanksgiving in 2026. Washington wrote that all nations have a duty "to be grateful for his benefits"; Lincoln asked for "a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens." The prayers below are for the table on that day and every day: the Catholic grace, Luther's table prayers, three prayers from the Book of Common Prayer, and Psalms 100 and 136. Each is printed word for word from the dated edition named on its page and labelled with its tradition.