What is prayer:
When you talk to your friends, you’re literally having a conversation with them. They hear you and you hear them. Sometimes the conversation is funny, sometimes it’s serious, and sometimes it’s just mundane. In whatever circumstance they hear you, and you hear them. The same thing happens with God in prayer- and that’s what prayer is.
Although prayer May sound like some outright religious practice, to be reserved for only religious events, that’s a misconception. Prayer is the simple act of talking to God and having a conversation with him- just like with your friends.
When to pray:
You can pray to God for anything and in any moment! When you talk to a friend you will most likely (and hopefully) limit how much you decide to share. You might share most things, but other things that are deep thoughts and maybe even embarrassing moments, you’ll decide to keep to yourself.
When you talk to God you don’t have to wear a filter about who you are, what you think, how you feel, or what you believe. Even before you choose to pray and talk to God, he already knows what you are thinking, so praying is also a form of humility. Talking to God is an acknowledgement of God and it’s an invitation for him to be apart your life and to literally connect with him in that moment, the way you would with a friend.
As you pray and as you connect to God about your life in different circumstances, the one that will be the most consistent can be grace prayers before meals – in other words blessing your food.
Praying before eating- saying grace:
As someone who was born into a Christian household, saying grace is something that my family did every day, especially during dinner. We would hold hands around the table and one person would either volunteer or be chosen to lead the rest of the group.
Depending on who was leading the prayer, it could last a few seconds or as long as 3minutes. Either way, the prayer would usually sound something like,
“God thank you for everything that you have blessed us with, thank you for the people that prepared this food, and we pray that everything that we will eat will nourish our bodies and that our bodies will receive it well. At the same time, we pray that if someone out there does not have something to eat, we pray that you bless them today with something to eat. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.”
Saying grace was a time to thank God and ask for protection over our bodies and as a child it instilled this overarching idea that before eating God needs to be involved. Just as Jesus, before he even began to break off the pieces of loaves, he would give thanks to God and then proceed to eating. (Matthew 14:19).
Why it’s important.
- Show Gratitude
How many times a day do we take the time to thank God and connect with him in gratitude? Saying Grace is a moment that we can individually, or as a group, give thanks because we have food that can keep our bodies healthy and filled. Food may seem like something that we don’t have to be thankful for because it’s such a basic need that we have, but when you consider all the people that are not able to eat or even try certain foods, you can automatically understand the blessing of having what God has given us.
- Please and honor God
When we say grace and talk to God, we are connecting with him, and that simple act is overwhelming pleasing to him. He wants to be a part of our lives, no matter how insignificant we might feel, he still wants a relationship with us. Eating a meal may seem like such insignificant thing, but to God, even a simple prayer before a meal is important to him. God wants us to live our lives for his glory, and to say a prayer over food is that daily invitation of publicly or privately having a heart that is focused on his will. Because when we talk to God- and when we do it from the heart- he can change our lives drastically little by little.
- Builds Community
There is nothing more community building than coming together hand in hand, giving thanks to God. Saying grace individually is great too, but as Gods word says, when there are two or more united in his name, there he is amongst them. Coming together as believers, and even with your nonbeliever friends or family, to put God first is a moment of surrendering to his presence and allowing him to be present in that moment.
This can even be a time for everyone to go around and say something that they are grateful for or even for specific prayer requests in their lives. When you instill this in your community you are creating an environment of blessing and protection over the people that you love. This is what God calls us to do, and as believers it’s important for us to show and give that love to Gods church and even those that don’t believe, so we can be a light.
- Protection over our bodies
There’s always a little risk in what we eat. A lot of the times we put unknown ingredients in our bodies, and we just trust that our bodies won’t react in a negative way, and that our digestive systems will function as planned. So, what better moment than before you eat, to ask God to help your body receive the food you are going to eat.
I don’t know about you but there are plenty of moments in my life where I have eaten, even the healthiest plate of food, and my body still reacted in a not-so-pleasing-way (AKA: many trips to the bathroom, if you know what I mean). And there might even be someone that is cooking food for you, and you just never know what they put in it.
Sometimes we just don’t have 100% control over what we are going to eat, but there is nothing impossible for God, and protection over our bodies is something that God can help us with. He can help us make our bodies receive the food well and prevent us from getting sick. A prayer over food is that faith and hope that God is with us protecting our bodies from any harm.
- Mindfulness in what we eat.
When we take the time to pray and connect with God before we eat, we are taking a moment to be mindful and reflect on our lives. A lot of the times, especially in Western American culture, we are constantly rushing and hustling and are always looking for the activity or moment to fill up our time or attention. However, when we sit and eat, it’s a small moment of our day where we can connect with our bodies though food and it’s an even greater opportunity to sit and thank God. When we do this, we can build intention in what we are eating.
Taking the time of being intentional is so valuable and important for us to remember the importance of taking care of our souls by connecting with God, but also by honoring through caring for our bodies. What we eat is so important, and a lot of the times more of a difference than working out and spending hours at the gym. Many personal trainers out there can agree that there is no use of working out all the time if your diet is not going to change or be awful. What we eat matters, and connecting with God should make us think about how we can use food to honor him.
Do you say Grace before you eat?
The next time you sit and have a meal, take a moment to connect with God and mediate on the food that you are about to eat. No matter where you are, and who you are with, it can be a fulfilling practice to start to invite God into every moment of your life- and witness how he can work in the smallest details of your life. Prayer does not have to be reserved for some sacred moment. In just taking the time to acknowledge God and put him first in everything that you do, is a way to build a relationship with him that is honoring and pleasing.
I would love to hear from you! Do you say grace before you eat? How does saying grace and blessing your food, change the way you eat or affect how you build community with fellow believers or nonbelievers?
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