Praying before we eat has become a custom across the world. For some, it has become a family tradition to pray and hold hands before partaking of the meal prepared at the table. It could also be that you are taught in school, if attending a Christian school, to pray before having your snack or lunch. In other words, prayer before eating or having a meal has, in some aspects, become a tradition, a practice where you utter a prayer before taking your first bite. We pray before we eat because we should thank God for the food that we have.
Father in heaven, let me not grow overfamiliar when I am about to eat. May I always thank You for the food that I have, knowing that it is a blessing from You. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
A Good Prayer Before You Eat
The Heart Behind Why We Pray Before Eating
Prayer before eating, like any other prayer, is not just praying for the sake of praying, whether it is the norm or tradition. Prayer is our way of communing with God. God communicates to us through His Word, and we communicate with God through our prayers. One of the privileges of being in Christ is being able to pray and commune with God, knowing that the veil has already been torn away between us. It is where we get to experience intimacy with God, our Father. (Matthew 6:6; Matthew 27:50-51)
We pray because of our relationship with God. Hence, when we pray before eating, we are praying because of our relationship with God as we intentionally communicate or talk to Him, and not because it is a tradition or norm that we have grown up with. Even if you pray for a long time before you eat, it may be useless if you’re just heaping up empty phrases (Matthew 6:7).
While indeed we pray out of our relationship with God when we pray before eating, where is the heart behind it? Why do we pray? Is it to cry out for help like we are told to do in the Psalms? Is it to pray for the things that we believe in God for? Worship and adore God for? While those are indeed different kinds of prayers, when we pray before we eat, we are actually praying a prayer of thanksgiving to God. In other words, we are thanking God for the food that we are about to eat.
Romans 11:36 says that from God, through God, and to God are all things. He is the source, He is the means, and He is the end goal. It means that everything comes from God, even our food. He owns everything (Psalm 24:1). Hence, the food we eat is evidence of God’s grace and mercy towards us. We are only recipients of God’s grace and mercy because we are in Christ (Romans 5:1-2), and having food to eat is evidence of this. Even if a person is an unbeliever, the food that he or she eats is still given through God’s common grace, as He makes the sun shine on both the just and unjust (Matthew 5:43-45).
Knowing all of that, it’s only fitting that we appropriate to God the praise and thanksgiving that He deserves. In fact, the Bible commands us to say prayers of thanksgiving towards God (Ephesians 5:20; Ephesians 5:4; Psalm 9:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.). Also, as we ponder upon God’s grace and mercy in our lives, including the food that we eat, we get to realign our hearts to be grateful, no matter the hardships we go through in life. We must realize that there is always something to be grateful for and that God has been sustaining us and is faithful in providing for us (Psalm 145:13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.[a]). Hence, we know that God will watch over us as we journey in life.
A Good Prayer Before You Eat
A Good Prayer Before You Eat
Thanking God with A Good Prayer Before You Eat
As you pray to God before you eat, you simply need to thank Him—that’s it. However, don’t let it be an empty “Thank you, Lord.” Ponder upon the goodness of God. A hundred different scenarios could have happened for you to not be able to eat—losing your job, a national disaster, being robbed, etc. There are many circumstances that would render you unable to buy and have the food you are about to eat. Yet, there you are, sitting with a nice meal before you.
Hence, as you thank God in prayer before you eat, while indeed it is not about the number of words, ponder upon the goodness, grace, mercy, and love of God, and may it drive your heart to thank God for the food with all your heart.
Heavenly Father, I am struggling to make ends meet with my finances, yet I still have food on my table, which is what I am about to eat right now. Thank You for Your faithfulness in providing for my needs. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
A Good Prayer Before You Eat
Whether you are having an extravagant meal or a simple one, it is still thanks to the grace and provision from the Lord. Hence, even if you’re enjoying a simple meal, we must thank God for it. It shows not just a grateful heart, but a heart containing godly contentment. It also displays humility before the Lord.