The General Thanksgiving

Morning Prayer

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

Provenance

Reynolds / BCP 1662

Draft — AI-assisted research under editorial review.

The General Thanksgiving has been recited at Morning and Evening Prayer since 1662, when Bishop Edward Reynolds of Norwich added it to the restored English prayer book. Reynolds, a Puritan divine who had served in the Westminster Assembly but accepted a bishopric at the Restoration, composed the prayer in response to a long-standing Protestant complaint that the liturgy had too few forms of public praise.

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

Provenance

Reynolds / BCP 1662

Draft — AI-assisted research under editorial review.

The General Thanksgiving has been recited at Morning and Evening Prayer since 1662, when Bishop Edward Reynolds of Norwich added it to the restored English prayer book. Reynolds, a Puritan divine who had served in the Westminster Assembly but accepted a bishopric at the Restoration, composed the prayer in response to a long-standing Protestant complaint that the liturgy had too few forms of public praise.