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| Nicolaes Maes 'Old woman saying grace' |
We thank Thee Father, for the love
Which feeds us here below
And hope in fairer realms above
Celestial feasts to know.
C H Spurgeon
Do you say grace before meals? (The word grace is from the Latin Gratia. It is plural and means thanks). The question may be at the dill and cummin tithed, gnat size end of matters of Christian faith and living but it certainly bears thinking about. Personally, I have oscillated. From the youthful zeal that provoked my agnostic father to remark that 'Even the bishops only say it only once a day!'. This probably reached its zenith one afternoon in Shrewsbury when 1 prayed 'O Lord we give you thanks for this knickerbocker glory'. It understandably met with loud guffaws from fellow participants.
From that youthful zeal I swung into a brief period of refraining from grace altogether because of the routine formality that often characterised my praying. Hopefully, like most of us, I am on a more even keel by now. But I do have my moments; for instance, when I come across the black-suited Dutch men at the Banner of Truth Conference ending the meal with private grace just as it began with public grace. Why do I not do that? I have heard too of ministers finding their mouths full of cake as they are asked to give thanks for the tea and fellowship, usually north of the border.
When is grace necessary or unnecessary? Then I am sure we have all been distracted at some time by the thought that the food is going to get cold when someone gives thanks at inordinate length. But surely times of grace can be opportunities for more than just a thank you for food and fellowship?
And what about a set grace, sung or said? Some of those most zealous against written prayers will nevertheless not raise an eyebrow if the occasion is giving thanks for food. Even if you refuse such man made helps is it not very easy to fall into a form? As one recent writer asks, what exactly do we mean when we ask God to Bless this food to our bodies! The subject bears thinking about, therefore.
Some things are quite clear.
1. Giving thanks at meals is right and proper. This can be argued from the fact that:
- The Bible urges us to pray at all times. Pray continually says 1 Thessalonians 5:17.
- The Bible urges us to be thankful in everything. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus says I Thessalonians 5:18.
- The Bible urges us in particular to be prayerful about and thankful for our daily food. The Lord's Prayer includes the petition. Give us this day our daily bread. In I Timothy 4:4,5 we are specifically told: everything God created is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the Word of God and prayer. Food was created by God, to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth (verse 3). Also consider Deuteronomy 8:10: When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God.
- The Bible gives us clear examples of giving thanks before eating. Perhaps Samuel (1 Samuel 9:13), certainly Paul in Acts 27:35. Certainly it was Jesus' practice as becomes clear from the feeding of the 4,000 and the 5,000 and the Last Supper.
I may as well kneel down
And worship gods of stone.
As offer to the living God
A prayer of words alone.
For words without the heart
The Lord will never hear;
Nor will he to those lips attend
Whose prayers are not sincere.
The only way to come to God is with a sincere heart and full assurance of faith (Hebrews 10:22). This does not mean to say that there is necessarily any harm in repeating a prayer that has been prayed before. Here is a good grace. It is found on a teapot at the Wesley Museum. It was given to John Wesley by Josiah Wedgewood. I believe it goes:
We thank Thee, Lord, for this our food
But more for Jesus 'flesh and blood
May manna from on high be given
The Bread of life sent down from heaven.
The author is probably John Cennick. He also wrote the well known words:
Be present at our table, Lord,
Be here and everywhere adored:
Thy creatures bless and grant that we
May feast in paradise with Thee.
There are many other useful graces worth remembering. They do not have to be repeated but can form the basis of an extempore prayer.
3. Finally, giving thanks to God for our food is one way in which we may daily seek to bring glory to God, which is the very purpose of the life we sustain by our daily intake. In 1 Corinthians 10:31 we read: Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. An ostentatious grace, chiefly for the benefit of any observing unbelievers runs foul of Jesus' admonitions in Matthew 6 but as part of a life wholly given to God giving thanks before (and maybe after) meals will play its part.
This article was originally in Grace Magazine
