It Starts Small

In my younger years, you could always count on the local television channels (before streaming) to show the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special. Charlie and Snoopy would sit down with their friends to a feast of popcorn, pretzels, toast, and jellybeans. Peppermint Patty suggests they say grace before eating. Linus offers a prayer of thanksgiving that was representative to what the first pilgrims might have prayed.

It is a heartfelt moment of dinner tables around the world and not just on the American holiday of Thanksgiving. WHy do we pray before meals? This was something I contemplated last fall. I felt like prayer was often superstitious and low on reflection. They were monotonous, meaningless, and ritualistic. Outside of my dad’s prayers when we all gather at his house, I felt my entire life, saying grace before eating was just a ritual. I stopped praying before eating, as many Christians have because of that reaction to what feels formulaic.

Recently, as I began to put this study together, i began to realize that mealtime prayers build into our day reminders that all good things come from God. Pausing in the morning, at noon, time, and the evening, we get the chance to see things for what they are: gifts from God. God’s provision and generosity are spread before us on the table and should stir up gratitude. Scripture does not command prayers before eating, so do not do it with a guilt-driven motive. Instead, the Bible models it not for the food’s sake, but for ours.

Jesus was the lead chef of the multitudes and through His Heavenly Father fed more than 5,000 people from a few fish and a few loaves of bread. Before He ever got “cooking,” He gives thanks.

¹¹ Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks he distributed them to those who were seated—so also with the fish, as much as they wanted. John 6:11

We find this again in Acts when Paul prayed aboard the ship:

³⁵ After he said these things and had taken some bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all of them, and after he broke it, he began to eat. Acts 27:35

In Fact, we find this all over the New Testament.

⁶ Whoever observes the day, observes it for the honor of the Lord. Whoever eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; and whoever does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat it, and he gives thanks to God. Romans 16:6

³⁰ If I partake with thanksgiving, why am I criticized because of something for which I give thanks? 1 Corinthians 10:30

The greatest example is the Lord’s Supper:

²⁷ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. Matthew 26:27

Meals provide a great intermission to slow down, sit, and re-tune our hearts and minds. Stopping to pray reminds us that everything comes from God! We can recognize and rejoice in God’s grace and goodness. This moment allows us to look up as we are prone to live in terms of the right here and right now. We naturally tend to forget how God intersects with life. Prayer around the table or booth unties the space between heaven and earth.

I encourage all of us, myself included, to take a look at building gratitude in our pre-meal prayers. Instead of the usual, Dear God…. Really use this moment in the midst of the day to give a realy thanks from the heart for God’s provision. Give thanks because the food is nutritious. Give thanks for the skill and creativity of the one who prepared it. As we pray, let our hearts focus on one blessing from the day and give thanks. Give thanks for God’s provision, goodness, and creativity.

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Part 1: Remembering Landmark Moments
Part 2: The Overflow of Your Heart
Part 3: Saying Grace
Part 4: Blessings or Problems?
Part 5: The Lord’s Supper
Part 6: Remembering and Forgetting
Part 7: Remember God!