Thanksgiving Day in these United States is celebrated annually the fourth Thursday in November. It was instituted in 1621 by the Pilgrims as a day of feast and prayer to give thanks to God after harvest for their survival. Typically Americans today, who are not so used to merely surviving, express their thanks for many more blessings besides. We express thanks nonetheless each year, whether in good times or in bad, through hard times and times of plenty, and in bull markets or bear. It is also true that while most people might be making it okay, there are always others barely getting by—else enduring the start of America’s traditional holiday season burdened with a personal sadness or weight of some kind. We ought to pray therefore for the relief of those who suffer, at the same time we praise God for all the blessings we enjoy.

We ought to pray for the unemployed and homeless, the sick and hungry, and those who have recently lost loved ones. We ought to be grateful regardless of the temporal circumstances, for life and for waking up this morning, as well as for the capacity to know and recognize God’s abounding grace in our lives and in the lives of others. Yes thankfully things are pretty good for me this year, and yet I know that it is ‘There but for the grace of God go I’; and for our nation also, we still possess much freedom and many forms of expression, and the means to make political and social correction.

"Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving [emphasis added], and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations" (Psalms 100:3-5). Indeed this may be King David’s injunction not only for what to do, but also for how. That is to say, we enter His gates how? Answer, with thanksgiving—because gratitude prepares our hearts and makes us receptive to Him.

Pastor Peter Lord of Florida has observed that it is a great privilege to be able to do this, i.e., to enter in with thanksgiving and to communicate with Him through prayer. Prayer is precisely the high privilege it is, because it involves coming into the presence of God. One couldn’t very well communicate (speak or listen) otherwise. It is also a privilege equally bestowed to all people without regard to class, IQ, wealth, test scores or any other distinction man can claim. And if prayer is a privilege, it must also be said that living in a country that proclaims Thanksgiving Day is also high privilege. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord (Psalms 33:12) expresses that same relation as between "Bless God America" and "God bless America." It would be a shame to forget the connection.

St. Paul entreats us in I Timothy 2:1-2 to give thanks and pray for our leaders too—one may conclude he means even those we don’t especially like. Why? "…That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." The exchange amounts to this: Thank God for freedom, and also pray for those in authority that freedom might be preserved. Thank God even for the freedom to give thanks without being persecuted, because in many other countries people of faith are persecuted—killed or imprisoned for believing in Christ, or insisting that the State is not God. The Apostle Paul knew something about important connections that some today have forgotten.

The connections have to do with prayer as communication and, in this case, keeping those channels open to Him from whom all blessings flow, blessings to nations as well as to individuals. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, because faith and freedom are intimately connected. In a free country, no one justifiably gets run over for converting to Christianity. On the other hand, human freedom is the start of man’s spiritual journey. Freedom is the tip of an iceberg in this respect, but essential and worth all the sacrifice to protect and defend because of it. In a free country, God becomes man’s Friend and not exclusively his Master (as interpreted necessarily by other men). In a free country, man may stand upright before his God as he chooses, instead of being thrown prostrate by zealots or tyrants so many times each day—as if the outward sign or form could ever reveal a man’s heart.

"Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. … Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. …Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:" (Isaiah 55: 1,3,5-6). Enter into His gates, and have a very happy Thanksgiving doing so! Freedom essentially depends upon it.

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