Prayer Before Meals
Saying grace before a meal, with the traditional Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant forms — and one you can say in front of guests without anybody feeling awkward.
The prayer
Lord, for this food and for the hands that prepared it, we thank You. Bless it to our bodies and bless us to Your service. Remember those who have no meal today, and make us willing to be part of Your answer to them. Amen.
History & tradition
Grace before meals is older than Christianity — Jesus was following ordinary Jewish practice when he 'looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake' the loaves. Every branch of the Church kept it. The Catholic form ('Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts…') dates to the medieval Latin blessing; the Orthodox pray the Lord's Prayer before eating and a thanksgiving after; the Protestant tradition has generally preferred a short extempore prayer. All three usually take under fifteen seconds, which is the point.
When to pray it
Before the meal, said aloud by one person while everyone else stops. The stopping matters as much as the words: it is the one moment in the day a whole household is reliably still and facing each other.
Three short alternatives
The Catholic grace
'Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive from thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen.'
The common table prayer
'Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let these gifts to us be blessed. Amen.' Lutheran in origin and the one most children learn first.
When guests may not share your faith
'We are grateful for this food and for the company at this table. Amen.' Honest, brief, and it puts nobody on the spot.
Pair it with daily practice
See our verses about thankfulness, and the gratitude journal in Quiethaven, which asks for three lines a day and nothing more.
"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." — 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (KJV)
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