At age 22, Benjamin Franklin prepared a guide to personal devotion, a practice he continued daily throughout his life. In this practice, he cultivated the habit of giving praise to God.
Benjamin Franklin Gives Praise To God 1728
For peace and liberty, for good and raiment, for corn, and wine, and milk, and every kind of healthful nourishment, — Good God, I thank thee!
For the common benefits of air and light; for useful fire and delicious water, — Good God, I thank thee!
For knowledge, and literature, and every useful art, for my friends and their prosperity, and for the fewness of my enemies, — Good God, I thank thee!
For all thy innumerable benefits; for life, and reason, and the use of speech; for health, and joy, and every pleasant hour, — My good God, I thank thee!
Benjamin Franklin
“Thanks”
(Personal Papers)
November 20, 1728
Resource:
Josiah Benjamin Richards, God of Our Father: Advice and Prayers of Our Nation’s Founders (Reading: Reading Books, 1994), 2.
