# Saying "grace" before meals



## Andres (Aug 28, 2012)

Is praying before meals simply tradition or is there biblical basis for it? In my early days of being a Christian, I used to make it a point to always pray before I ate, but then I began feeling like I was praying simply for the sake of praying; that it was a bit too forced. I do still pray at times before I eat, but not for every single meal. Thoughts?


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## Scott1 (Aug 28, 2012)

> Acts 27:35
> 
> And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat.


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## FCC (Aug 28, 2012)

An excellent quote from Acts! Also see Matt. 26:27, Mark 14: 22-23, and Luke 22: 17, 19 for Jesus offer thanks at the Lord's Supper. I know this is set forth for us today at the communion table but I would also infer that it gives us precedent for offer thanks at our regular meals as well. In everything give thanks! We have also made it a practice to read a short excerpt from Scripture before we eat. This provides us with a biblical topic of conversation during the meal which is very edifying.


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## Southern Presbyterian (Aug 28, 2012)

Certainly the admonition to "pray without ceasing" is one reason to return thanks at meals.

When asked how a Christian is to "pray without ceasing", General Stonewall Jackson, drawing on the experience and practice of his own life, had this to say:



> When we take our meals, . . . there is the grace. When I take a draught of water, I always pause, as my palate receives the refreshment, to lift up my heart to God in thanks and prayer for the water of life. Whenever I drop a letter into the box at the post-office, I send a petition along with it, for God’s blessing upon its mission and upon the person to whom it is sent. When I break the seal of a letter just received, I stop to pray to God that he may prepare me for its contents, and make it a messenger of good. When I go to my class-room, and await the arrangement of the cadets in their places, that is my time to intercede with God for them. And so of every other familiar act of the day.


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## rookie (Aug 28, 2012)

Andres, 

You bring up a huge point. I don't know how often, when I pray for myself (at work, or otherwise no one else there) I find myself repeating the same thing everytime. Even when I pray at home for our meal, my wife listens (the dogs do too...they are getting preached at often....lol). But I catch myself VERY often praying mostly out of tradition that I don't want to forget praying for a meal....but sometimes...I have so many other things on my mind...my wife will point out "So you want this do you". And I didn't even hear myself say it... but she caught it.

How do we keep our prayers fresh and true? We only have a certain amount of words in our vocabulary...and I find myself praying through Psalms and other quotes of the bible. But then, God already knows his bible....He doesn't need to hear it from me.


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## Constantlyreforming (Aug 28, 2012)

Our daughter prays before meals for our family. It gives her an opportunity to thank God for His provision, as we are trying to teach her that God is the provider of all good things. No prayer is the same, and it is a time of reflection for her on what God has provided besides the food in front of us.


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## ProtestantBankie (Aug 28, 2012)

Alternatively
"Do we recognise the Kingship of Christ over all of our posessions, including the food in front of us?"


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## Contra_Mundum (Aug 28, 2012)

I read this justification a long time ago, and it revolutionized my attitude, which was slightly ambivalent toward this "tradition."

When we pray, not simply in thankful acknowledgement for divine provision (1Cor.4:7; 10:31), or in imitation of our Lord (Mt.14:19; 15:36), but in asking God to "Bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies," we are making an explicit statement of faith.

We are saying that this world does not operate according to the blind actions of impersonal laws, and automated deterministic cause and effect. We are begging God to take that food, and cause our bodies to break it down according to His laws, and with his permission, and actuated by his gracious impulse. We are asking him to mute and turn aside any and all deleterious effects of the same substances, either by nature's work or against it, to our benefit and to our loved ones'.

This world is not a mechanism ordered and wound and set in motion by the Blind Watchmaker. The chemical reactions and the physical principles that operated within it are not simply dominoes that fall--not if we really believe in the God of Providence. When we do our most mundane of acts, that so many presume are simply the bare minimum that keeps a man alive for another interval, we have not attended the most basic reality _if we have neglected prayer to the God who gives or takes life by all means or none other than himself._


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## Caroline (Aug 28, 2012)

My family would probably forget to pray often, but my autistic son is extremely conscientious about it. If he eats so much as a peppermint any time of the day, he always prays, and if we start eating a meal without praying, he is so horrified that he loudly prays that God will forgive us this trespass. 

I actually wonder whether keeping prayers 'fresh' is overrated. After all, what are psalms if not a book of prayers? It seems to me that trying to be novel sometimes distracts more than adds anything. So we pray pretty much the same thing every time--thank the Lord for the food, ask God to bless our pastor as He prepares the sermon this week. And then we just tack on anything at the end that is new-- if someone is sick, we pray for them, etc. But I don't think there is anything wrong with praying the same thing every time. It's still relevant, every time. Life doesn't change much from day to day for most of us.


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## Constantlyreforming (Aug 28, 2012)

Caroline said:


> My family would probably forget to pray often, but my autistic son is extremely conscientious about it. If he eats so much as a peppermint any time of the day, he always prays, and if we start eating a meal without praying, he is so horrified that he loudly prays that God will forgive us this trespass.
> 
> *I actually wonder whether keeping prayers 'fresh' is overrated*. After all, what are psalms if not a book of prayers? It seems to me that trying to be novel sometimes distracts more than adds anything. So we pray pretty much the same thing every time--thank the Lord for the food, ask God to bless our pastor as He prepares the sermon this week. And then we just tack on anything at the end that is new-- if someone is sick, we pray for them, etc. But I don't think there is anything wrong with praying the same thing every time. It's still relevant, every time. Life doesn't change much from day to day for most of us.



I was thinking the same thing, Caroline. 

Certainly singing/saying/praying "Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come" isn't empty because it is repeated continuously in Heaven.


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## toddpedlar (Aug 28, 2012)

One thing that I am reminded of in this thread is that (as Caroline notes) keeping prayers "fresh" is overrated - so vastly overrated in my opinion as to be a horrific distraction from all things. I am reminded that many in the church complain that many things we do in the church are the same week-in and week-out, and so worship fails the "freshness" test for them... that, too is an awful distraction. 

Keeping meal-time prayers "fresh" is also a first-world problem. I suspect that those who live in what is politically-incorrectly called the third world, who sometimes (or frequently) cannot put food on the table, if they are believers, have absolutely no problem praying out of true gratitude for their meal when they are able to eat. We should be reminded that we deserve food no more than they do - but because of our bounty, we are forgetful that it all is a gift of God. If we had a perspective on our meals somewhat approaching theirs, we might not be worried so much about saying the same things.


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## Jack K (Aug 28, 2012)

Jesus gave thanks before feeding the 5,000, too. So there's plenty of biblical precedent for giving thanks when we eat. The concern that it might become empty or forced is something to pay attention to. But it's also true that as spiritual habits go, this is a good one. To keep it, and keep it real, is usually a good call.



Contra_Mundum said:


> in asking God to "Bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies," we are making an explicit statement of faith.



I like that point. Done as an expression of daily faith, a prayer that the food will be a blessing could be good.

However, I've also seen this "asking a blessing" devolve into something more akin to superstition, where people actually fear to eat "unblessed" food because it might be unhealthy to them or make God angry. As a result, when I'm in a group and am asked to say a blessing before a meal I usually turn things around and bless God instead. I thank him and bless his name, acknowledging his goodness. It fits Deuteronomy 8:10, "And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you."


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## VictorBravo (Aug 28, 2012)

toddpedlar said:


> One thing that I am reminded of in this thread is that (as Caroline notes) keeping prayers "fresh" is overrated - so vastly overrated in my opinion as to be a horrific distraction from all things.



Right. And the attempt at keeping things "fresh" can often be connected to the desire to look good in other's eyes.

I am reminded of a saying from a friend and pastor: "Private prayer is difficult, public prayer is impossible...but we are called to do it and the Spirit transforms what we bring."

Meaning, of course, it is impossible for imperfect persons to pray without getting in the way of themselves, and it is by God's grace that he would hear us. 

So we have that age-old tension: we should not vainly pray, yet we should pray without ceasing. A simple acknowledgement of our thanks and complete dependence upon the Almighty God is always a valid exercise.


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## DeniseM (Aug 28, 2012)

_It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High:

To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, Psalm 92:1-2_


_And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. Deuteronomy 6:7_

It is always a good idea to give thanks for every good gift that the Father gives us. Coming together for a meal does fall under the category of 'when thou sittest in thine house;' what better time to engage in prayer with our children and teach them of their(and our) duty to give glory to God in all things?

The Pharisees were rebuked by Christ for their vain repetitions, thinking that they would be heard for their lengthy prayers. I believe Christ teaches us here that our prayers don't need to be lengthy. A sincere short prayer from the heart is more honoring to him than an ornate prayer for the sake of feeling like we have something new to say.


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## Rich Koster (Aug 28, 2012)

1 Tim 4:4-5 simplifies it for me.
"For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving"


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## JennyG (Aug 28, 2012)

Caroline makes a very good point 
It applies to other everyday things just as much after all - at the day's end, or on the phone if they're elsewhere, I'll always say to my family some version of "good night, and God bless you". The wording varies hardly at all, but I don't seriously think that bothers them and it sure doesn't bother me. If I was searching in my mind for a fresh way to say it, I might forget to mean it.


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## Andres (Aug 29, 2012)

DeniseM said:


> Coming together for a meal does fall under the category of 'when thou sittest in thine house;' what better time to engage in prayer with our children and teach them of their(and our) duty to give glory to God in all things?



This is exactly my reasoning for thinking I should do a better job of leading my family in regular prayer before meals. I appreciate everyone's contributions. I will certainly do my best, by God's grace, to give God thanks before each meal.


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## Dordts5 (Aug 29, 2012)

I find that reciting Scripture to my daughter in her younger years has helped her to pray now, as she does before many of our family meals, she's nine years old. She doesn't repeat those same passages, but it has helped to recognize thanksgiving. The most oft cited passage I have quoted is Exodus 23:25 where the Lord promised to, if we serve Him, "bless our food and water and to take disease away from the midst of us."


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