How to say grace before eating

1913 235 Why do so many Christians, on sitting down to meals, begin by praying? The appropriate thing on accepting a gift is to give thanks. The Christian recognises God as the giver of his food, and therefore should render thanks to Him. This indeed is consonant with scripture: "meats" are "created to be received with thanksgiving of them who believe and know the truth" (1 Tim. 4:3).

The man of the world regards his food as the product of a machine, or institution, which he calls Nature; but the Christian goes behind this, and recognises the Creator of the entire system of nature. Further, he not only believes that there is such a Creator, but he knows Him; is actually in communion with Him "by the word of God and prayer" (1 Tim. 4:5). Mr. Darby's translation of this phrase is, "by God's word and freely addressing [Him]," and his note on this rendering is illuminative of the whole subject. He says, "This I believe to be the sense here: enteuxis means intercourse with a person, then petitions and intercession; one person speaking personally to another. … I believe the creature, fallen through Adam, belongs to the faithful, and those who know the truth, by God's speaking to us, and our freely speaking to Him. This has set all on a new footing, because we have met God again, the word of God having put us into communication by grace. And the faithful and those who know the truth, have availed themselves of it, and come and enter into intercourse. It is no longer by nature, but by the word of God."

Scripture says that "every creature of God is good and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer." The current idea is that each meal needs to be prayed about, before it can properly be partaken of. But the contrary is the truth: it is sanctified by the fact of the new position in which the Christian stands. "All things are yours … the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours" (1 Cor. 3:22). The action on our part which scripture enjoins is not prayer but thanksgiving. "If it be received with thanksgiving" (1 Tim. 4:4). It is "created to be received with thanksgiving" (1 Tim. 4:3). Thus the Christian's meal-table becomes an altar of praise; the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name. How different from the dead formula which some of us have had to listen to with pain: "Sanctify, we beseech thee, O Lord, this food to our use, and us to Thy service, for Christ's sake. Amen." Not a word here of thanks to the Giver of all good for His bounties spread upon the table before us; and the prayer which is made is out of place, it being that God would do something which He has already done, and for which He expects thanksgiving or praise from loving hearts which know Him.

And even where formulas have long been laid aside, one has often to hear what is really only an expansion of the gloomy one just quoted prayer about the food, about ourselves, about our service, but never a note of praise to our God for His creature-gifts! Prayer is very, very blessed, but so also in its place is praise not only does it re-act subjectively upon ourselves, but it glorifies God. "Whoso offereth praise (or, thanksgiving, marg.) glorifieth me" (Ps. 50:23). At a meal-table it is sometimes said, Will you ask a blessing? and the appropriate reply would be, "No; the food is already blessed; it is sanctified to our use; and for this food, thus already blessed, I will cheerfully give thanks."

We will now refer briefly to the particular points of the query. (1) Some scriptures have been cited which afford guidance on the general subject. They undoubtedly show that thanksgiving at meals should be cultivated as a regular Christian habit. (2) It is true that all God’s gifts, such as fresh air and sunshine, should be acknowledged thankfully, but food is placed by God in a special category, and we are admonished not to overlook the giving of thanks for this mercy. (3) It is also true that the act of thanksgiving may be performed mechanically sometimes, but this is equally true of our prayers and Bible reading. A lapse into dry or dead formality does not provide an adequate excuse for occasionally abstaining altogether. It would be better to seek to overcome the tendency to legalism by recalling our direct indebtedness to God for the nourishment of our bodies.

It may be added that the above principles should be carried out in practice, not in a spirit of irksome bondage, but in the spirit of happy liberty ‘wherewith Christ hath made us free’ (Gal. 5:1). In one’s daily practice, problems are sure to arise, calling for individual exercise of heart and conscience. Food may be eaten under a variety of conditions, ranging perhaps from a glass of water or a biscuit or a bar of chocolate to a multi-course dinner. We may eat alone or in company, at home or at a public table, with fellow-believers or in the presence of unbelievers. One may say one’s own grace silently, or give thanks aloud for others. In all cases God looks at the heart and accepts the simple, real, earnest thanks rendered to Him. But where grace is said as a parade of piety, in a bold and conspicuous manner with the evident intention of being seen of men, it incurs the Lord’s condemnation of the hypocrites in their prayers (Matt. 6:5). Let us heed the words of the psalmist: ‘O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good … who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever’ (Ps. 136:1, 25).

The New Testament gives us the Lord’s own teaching and example. He taught His disciples to say, when they prayed, ‘Give us this day our daily bread’ (Matt. 6:11). He taught the poor of His little flock not to be over-anxious concerning what they should eat and what they should drink, because their heavenly Father knew they had need of all these things (vs. 31–32). The Lord Himself, at the outset of the meals He provided for the multitudes, blessed and gave thanks (Matt. 14:19; 15:36; Mark 6:41; 8:6; John 6:11). The importance of His public thanksgiving may be gathered from John’s subsequent reference to the miracle: ‘the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks’ (John 6:23). He emphasises, not the multiplication of the loaves which we think so wonderful, but the Lord’s giving of thanks at the beginning of the meal. There was blessing as well, as there was at the institution of the Lord’s supper (Matt. 26:26–27). But it must be noted that in no case does the Lord bless the bread (there is no ‘it’ after the verb in the original in Matthew 26:26; compare Mark 14:22). The Lord Jesus, as the obedient man, blessed God the giver, not the inanimate food.

Another instance is after the Lord’s resurrection. At the evening meal in Emmaus, He ‘took bread, and blessed’ (Luke 24:30). On this occasion the meal was private, not in public; in the house, not on the hillside; with perhaps only two beside the Lord present, not a great multitude. It is especially helpful to note this in connection with the query before us. The risen Lord gave thanks at a little cottage meal!

Verse 4. "Every creature of God is good." There is no evil whatever in the fact of eating any of the various meats therefore. The question of what may be harmful to health in specific cases, is not, of course, considered here, but the spiritual implications of eating. If one knows he cannot tolerate certain foods without suffering for it, then it is only sensible for him to avoid these. But eating or not eating makes no spiritual difference. "If it be received with thanksgiving" is an important condition noted here. If I do not thank God for my food, then whatever I eat, the spiritual implications are bad. That which sets the food apart as God's provision is the Word of God and prayer.

The spiritual significance of this for us we must not ignore. For if anyone in Israel did not give God this first place of recognition, he was to be sentenced to death. The matter is no less serious for us, though God is not today requiring the sentence of death for an offender. Instead He has given us the instruction of 1 Timothy 4:4-5, “For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” Even animals unclean for Israel by the law's standards are for us perfectly fit for eating, for they are sanctified by the word of God and by the prayer of thanksgiving on the part of the eater. If one does not thank God for his food, he has no proper right to eat at all. For every creature is the property of God, and in receiving it we ought to recognize His rights first of all.

If now the offering of thanksgiving glorifies God, shall we refrain from this when we are in public, say at a restaurant, or other public table? No doubt this is often a trial to the flesh; it is at once an open confession of Christ, which the natural heart would willingly evade; but we should recall to our minds the Lord's precious words, "Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God" (Luke 12:8). And again, "Them that honour me, I will honour" (1 Sam. 3:30). Paul, on board ship, "took bread and gave thanks to God, in presence of them all" (the ship's company) (Acts 27:35). Daniel kneeled upon his knees and prayed at his open window, as he had done aforetime, three times a day, although at the penalty of death.

Thus this slight matter of thanksgiving at meals may afford to us a test of where we really are, as to the power of God in our souls. "I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will," says Paul, "and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power" (1 Cor. 19, 20). E.J.T.

He knew what he was talking about who said, "The best sauce to any meal is a thankful heart." Yes, to receive our food from God with thanksgiving gives a relish to the plainest meal that no sumptuous banquet possesses. Yet how often it is forgotten by Christians. What a rare thing it is, for instance, to see a head bowed over a meal in thanksgiving to God in a public restaurant. So seldom is it seen that a friend of mine told me that when he did it recently the waiter inquired anxiously, "Anything wrong with the soup, sir?" But the Christian has not only to give thanks for the countless benefits that he and his receive, but also for all men, for so we are told in 1 Timothy 2. I called upon a Christian baker. He supplied a large part of the small town in which he lived with bread, and there were piles of loaves all round awaiting distribution. I saw the meaning then of giving thanks on behalf of all men. "Why," I said to him, "you can exercise your priestly privilege here in your bakehouse. You know that many who will receive these loaves will never think of lifting their voices in thanksgiving to God for them, but you can do it on their behalf before ever they leave your premises. You can thank God for His kindness and care and His provision for those who never even acknowledge Him or give thanks to Him for His good gifts." And so can every Christian. And this thanksgiving for others that can be exercised in a thousand ways leads to blessed communion with God, and our hearts are made very sensible of His exceeding goodness and mercy.

What do we learn from Paul? On board ship, during the storm he advised the passengers and crew to take some food after their protracted fast of a fortnight. Setting them an example in more ways than one, he ‘took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all’ (Acts 27:35). Writing of eating special foods on religious feast days, the apostle, in view of the believer’s liberty, says: ‘He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks’ (Rom. 14:6). Mark that thanks were given in both circumstances. Again, in another epistle, speaking of eating things sacrificed to idols, he says: ‘If I partake with thanksgiving, why am I spoken evil of for what I give thanks for?’ (1 Cor. 10:30). From these scriptures it appears that thanksgiving at meals was a recognised habit in apostolic days.

Further, Paul, condemning an unnatural abstinence from certain foods on pseudo-religious grounds, laid down the fundamental truth that ‘every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer’ (1 Tim. 4:4–5). Again, it is implied that thanks to God is an habitual accompaniment of receiving or eating food. Like the early believers, we should eat, or receive, our food (meat) with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God (Acts 2:46–47). Note that every ‘creature’ good for food is already sanctified or set apart for this purpose by the word of God in Genesis, as we have observed above.

But in addition to this habit of general thanksgiving, we find that a meal is to be considered a particular occasion for the giving of thanks. In partaking of food for the support of our life we are, or should be, reminded of our great benefactor. Ignorance on our part of this obligation is inexcusable, because from the beginning God by special revelation, both before and after the fall, showed that vegetable and animal food alike are His gifts to man for his maintenance (Gen. 1:29–30; 9:3). He has never failed to send rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling men’s hearts with food and gladness (Acts 14:17). What a perennial cause for thankfulness to Him! But, alas, it is recorded as a signal mark of men’s sinful departure from God and forgetfulness of His mercies that ‘they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful’ (Rom. 1:21). Thus, despising the riches of God’s goodness in the things of nature has been true of sinners from earliest times. This is deplorable, but it is still more so if found in the children of God.

When the redeemed people of Jehovah were settled in the good land of Canaan they were warned not to forget God who brought them there. In their worship of the one living and true God they were to be an example to all the nations around them that forget God. The Israelites might, and should, rejoice in every good thing the Lord their God gave them in the land flowing with milk and honey, but they were not to omit to bring the firstfruits to the Lord of all the earth, and worship before Him in grateful praise (Deut. 26:10–11). When they thus came before the Lord to ‘eat the fat, and drink the sweet’ (Neh. 8:10), the inspired words of thanksgiving for their lips would be: ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits … who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s’ (Ps. 103:1–5). Now it is the believer who is called to show an example to all men of what is due to God for all His benefits, receiving them with thanksgiving according to the word of the apostle regarding foods ‘which God hath created to be received [that is, eaten] with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth’ (1 Tim. 4:3).

The Spirit of God through Paul assures us that any creature of God is good, and nothing to be rejected, if it be received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer. If that which God has made for the creature for its use is refused and rejected, it is sin. But all that the Creator has provided must be received from Him with thanksgiving, and the acknowledgment of a dependence upon Him. Prayer is needed for that, to sanctify to our use what He has so graciously given.