And He took the five loaves and two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them; and He divided up the two fish among them all. – Mark 6:41
Thanksgiving, 2019
As we approach Thanksgiving, I want to remind everyone that giving thanks is not just reserved for this time of the year. Giving thanks is something Christians are commanded to do, and we are to do so continually (Eph. 5:20; 1 Thess. 5:17[1]). We should thank God for many things, yet we often neglect to thank God. I want to specifically focus on one thing, and that is giving thanks for our food.
A few weeks ago, we studied Mark 6:30-44. Before Jesus fed the massive crowd of over 15,000 people, verse 41 says, “He blessed the food.” In other words, Jesus prayed before the meal.
How many times do we pray before a meal? I think it is sad to see many Christians forgo praying before a meal. Sometimes those who pray only do so on special occasions. I want to address three questions in this post: First, what is the content of our prayers before a meal, second, why do we pray before a meal, and third, how often do we pray before a meal?
What is the content of our prayers before a meal? Verse 41 answers the question: “He blessed the food.” The emphasis here is not that we ask God to bless our food—whereby the food is now “blessed”—rather, we are to thank God for blessing us with food to eat. The food is not any more “blessed” after we pray than it was before we prayed. John, recording the same account, uses the words “given thanks” instead of “bless” (John 6:11, 23). What’s in view here for Mark 6:41 is giving thanks for the blessing of food, and that is the content of our prayer before a meal. We find this pattern set forth in Scripture (e.g., Acts 27:35; Rom. 14:16; 1 Tim. 4:4-5).
Why do we give thanks before a meal? We give thanks because God has provided us the food to eat. We looked at common grace in another post, and some examples include God giving us the rain and the sun (Matt. 5:45; Acts 14:17), which produces crops that nourish us and the animals that we eat. Even if we don’t raise our own food, it is God who provides us the resources to buy food and other necessities. We should come to the table before a meal and give Him thanks.
How often do we pray before a meal? There is no rigid, legalistic guideline on what to say or how often we should pray. It doesn’t have to be a long prayer; it can be as simple as telling God “thank You,” as long as we are genuine and not superstitious, legalistic, or ritualistic. While we should thank Him (and pray) often, mealtime is just one of many times where we can pause and give Him thanks.
Christians should pray before a meal whether we are dining with family or dining alone, whether we dine at home or at a restaurant, and whether we like the food or not. Furthermore, let’s not forget to always give Him thanks for providing all things for us, whether that is clothing, shelter, transportation, family, and more.
Let’s make it our habit to genuinely thank God for all that He provides for us, including our food.
Note:
[1] “Give thanks” is in the present tense in both verses. Present tense indicates continual action. It is also in the imperative mood in 1 Thess. 5:17, which makes it a command.