“Almighty God, Who has given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech Thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Thy favor and glad to do Thy will.

Bless our land with honorable ministry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion, from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people, the multitude brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endow with Thy spirit of wisdom those whom in Thy name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that through obedience to Thy law, we may show forth Thy praise among the nations of the earth.

In time of prosperity fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in Thee to fail; all of which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

— Washington, DC, March 4, 1801

h/t Beliefnet.

UPDATE: Well, the good people at Monticello have weighed in on this particular piece of prose. They say that this prayer is often attributed to our third president but, in fact, Jefferson had nothing to do with it.

From their website:

This prayer was not written or delivered by Thomas Jefferson. It is in fact from the 1928 United States Book of Common Prayer. Explanations of the 1928 revision of the Book of Common Prayer make no mention of an earlier source for the prayer, which is identified simply as “For Our Country”.

Interestingly, although we can find no evidence that this prayer has a presidential source, it seems other political figures have found it to be quite useful. Several months after his 1930 Thanksgiving Day Address as Governor of New York, it was pointed out that Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s speech bore a striking resemblance to the very same prayer discussed above.

Ultimately, it seems highly unlikely that Jefferson would have composed or delivered a public prayer of this sort anyway. He considered religion a private matter, and when asked to recommend a national day of fasting and prayer, replied “I consider the government of the United States as interdicted by the Constitution from inter meddling with religious institutions, their doctrines, discipline, or exercises…”

Interesting stuff.

But it’s still a nice prayer for this holiday, no matter who wrote it… 🙂