I was asked to deliver our Scripture Reading and Pastoral Prayer during our corporate worship service on 23 November 2025. We cultivate the exercise of ‘praying God’s Word back to Him’ as we have just read it. Our Scripture Reading was Psalm 136. Since this Psalm was written and delivered to the Choirmaster to be read, chanted, or perhaps even sung to a tune long-since lost—and even as a responsive reading with the whole congregation participating—I asked our fellow worshippers to join me as we recited the repeating refrain after each of the twenty-six thanksgiving confessions: “for His steadfast love endures forever.” After our “giving thanks to The LORD, for He is good,” I then offered this Pastoral Prayer as our collective response to God for being so good. For those who have requested a copy of the text of the prayer, I humbly offer it with the prayer that it will contribute to yet more “overflowing in many thanksgivings to God” (2 Corinthians 9.12).

PASTORAL PRAYER | Psalm 136 | Thanksgiving to God

O God,

You are good in every way and all the time.

You are good and goodness in Your very being, Your character, & all Your ways—and all good and goodness comes from You.

You are good to us …

-“You give us life, and breath, and all things.” (Acts 17.25)

-“You richly provide us with everything to enjoy.” (1 Timothy 6.17)

-You have given us Yourself to be our gracious and faithful God…

-You have given us Your one and only Son to be our Redeemer and Savior…

-You have provided for our every physical and spiritual need…

-You have directed the paths and courses of our lives by Your loving purposes and faithful            Providences.

“How shall (we) say ‘Thanks!’ for all the things you have done for (us);

things so undeserved, yet you do to prove Your love for (us)…” ~Andrae Crouch

We confess with our father Jacob: “We are not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love that You have shown to Your servant…” (Genesis 32.10) … but, O God, you have not given us the least of anything! “You did not spare Your own Son, but delivered Him up for us all—how shall you not with Him freely give us all things!” (Romans 8.32) —and in Your rich mercy and lavish grace, “You have blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places … in Christ!” (Ephesians 1.3)

And we are here today to thank You! We “enter Your gates with thanksgiving, and Your courts with praise! We give thanks to You…and bless Your Name!” (Psalm 100.4)

You have commanded us in your Word “None shall appear before Me empty-handed” (Exodus 23.15) because our hands and our lives are full of the blessings of God. And you have also commanded us to worship You … always rejoicing with thanksgiving … ‘with our hearts full of joyfulness and gladness—we and our households—for all that You have blessed us.’ (Deuteronomy 12.7; 28.47)

May our worship today—and every day in the conduct of our lives—be happy days … full of thanksgivings to You! (Ephesians 5.20)

Forgive us of our stingy thanksgivings and our grievous sins of ingratitude … whether it be in our bitter attitudes and words of griping and complaining against Your Providences or the private murmurings of our hearts in our discontentment with You … and Your ways with us.

Give us Grace, O God—even in our most painful experiences / our most disappointing turns of events / our darkest valleys / when our souls are scrambled with confusion and our hearts are breaking with grief and all our ‘why?’ questions…–teach us, O God, to ‘give thanks always for all things, in all circumstances’ (1 Thessalonians 5.18) … as we trust in the goodness of Your heart of love for us, and in the wisdom of Your perfect plan for our lives. 

And now…Pastor Will is coming to deliver your Word for us today. May Your Word to us through him fill our hearts, our mouths, and our lives with Grace, hope, joy, and thanksgivings … “For You are good; Your steadfast love endures forever, and Your faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 100.5)

And all this we humbly pray—with thanksgiving—(Philippians 4.6; Colossians 4.2) through the merits of Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord … Amen.