Then God said, “I give you every seed–bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. (Gen 1:29–30 NIV)
A Thanksgiving for Plants
Let us give thanks for plants, whose eager seedlings cover all the world, holding on through drought and flood and earth disturbance, shielding earth with greenery, a living mantle of protection. Thank you, God, for this source of food for beasts and birds and “everything that has the breath of life.”
Thanks for the plant-based water cycle—plants to clouds to rain to earth. Thanks for the plant-based air exchange—plants to animals to plants. Bless the plants for clothing, shelters, homes, and medicines. Thanks for the nature corridors of peace and beauty, sanctuaries for the spirit. Praise God for plant communities, the habitats and ecosystems of the globe. Thank you, God, for life zones—ameliorating climate and preventing mass erosion.
Let us give thanks for plants, whose eager seedlings cover all the world in jungles, wetlands, forests, grasslands, desert, tundra, chapparal—magnificent and generous gift, sustenance for life on earth. Amen.
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Find more prayers of thanksgiving, praise, proclamation, lament, petition:
“Drawing Close, Encountering Joy, An Artist’s Psalms and Prayers for the Earth”
by Janice E.Kirk (Resource Pub., 2022)
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