Thanksgiving Prayer for Children

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Teach kids this prayer of Thanksgiving and gratitude toward God. It includes simple hand & body movements to make it easy to memorize. The free download below includes the printable version of the prayer, the directions, and a bonus Thanksgiving coloring page.

Thanksgiving Prayer for Children
Print this thankful prayer to encourage kids in giving gratitude to God.

Children’s Prayer of Thanksgiving (Video Demonstration)

YouTube video
Watch the video above to see the hand motions we suggest for children with this prayer.

Teaching a child to engage God in prayer should be a top priority for children’s ministry leaders. This is a great time to teach about being thankful, when so many families and ministries are focusing on thankfulness. Teach children a thankful prayer, one that they can use all year long and watch their relationship with God grow. By combining simple phrases with hand and body movements kids will want to pray a thankful prayer every day. First, here is a thankful prayer. I have kept it short so that it will be easy for children and teachers to remember.


Thankful Prayer to Teach Children

Father, Father up above

Thank you, thank you for your love

Thank you, for my parents and my teachers too

I can see and I know these came from you

Father, Father up above

Thank you, thank you for your love

Thank you for my meals and my warm bed too

I can see and I know these came from you

Father, Father up above

Thank you, thank you for your love

Thank you, for my friends old and new

I can see and I know these came from you

Thank you Father

For your gifts to me

Amen


A Thankful Prayer to Teach Children

Hand Movements for the Thankful Prayer


Now comes the fun part! Ask children to stand and repeat the hand movements that you make. Here are my suggestions for hand and body movements but feel free to mix it up and make up some of your own.

  • Father: give yourself a hug
  • Up above: raise your hands above your head
  • Thank you: clap your hands
  • For your love: rub your heart with the palm of your right hand
  • I can see: point to your eyes with your pointer fingers
  • And I know: point to your head with your pointer fingers
  • My meals: on rub your tummy with the palms of your hands
  • My warm bed: fold your hands like you are sleeping
  • My friends: point to the other children
  • Old and new: close your hands into this for old and open them for new
  • For your gifts: cup your palms together like you’re holding a present
  • To me: point to yourself with your palms
  • Amen: bow your head and fold your hands

Teaching children to be thankful for what they have will help them grow into appreciative adults, aware of all of the blessings that God has given them.

children's prayer of thanksgiving - printable pray thank God for kids

More Prayer & Thanksgiving Ideas for Kids’ Church

Don’t miss all our ideas for Thanksgiving in your children’s ministry. Here are some related posts:


thanksgiving sunday school lessons
Don’t miss all our printable thanksgiving Sunday School lessons for kids.
New Sunday School Curriculum: Our Bible lessons are designed to keep the kids’ attention and show how God's Word makes a difference. Every series is flexible enough for a wide-age group and affordable enough for small churches. Download a free Bible lesson in pdf or view our latest Sunday School curriculum for small churches.

3 thoughts on “Thanksgiving Prayer for Children”

  1. The fourth line should end in ‘you’, not ‘yo’, and I cannot fix it because it is in a PDF format.

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