Mealtime Prayers

Some families ask a blessing, some say grace, and others give thanks. But what does the Bible say we should do before we eat? 

The core message of the Bible is that we should do two things before we eat: remember that our food is from God and thank him for it. From the very beginning of the Bible it is clear that all food comes from God’s hand (see Genesis 1:29 and 9:3). Unfortunately, Israel didn’t remember this. They thought their food came from other gods. Because of this, God punished them by taking their food away (Hosea 2:5-9). This serves as a strong warning to us to never forget where our food really comes from.

The Psalms are full of prayers we can pray to remember that our food is from God. It would be a great idea to actually read or memorize some of these Psalms to pray before your family meals:

“The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.” Psalm 145:15-16

“All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time.” Psalm 104:27

“He gives food to every creature. His love endures forever.” Psalm 136:25

Other examples of biblical prayers to pray before mealtimes are Psalm 104:13-15, Psalm 111:5, Psalm 147:8-9, and the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 (“Give us today our daily bread”). 

The Bible also tells us that we should thank God for our food. Jesus modeled this in most of his prayers (for example, see Matthew 14:19, 15:36, and 26:26-27), and Paul wrote that all food is acceptable to eat as long as we thank God for it (see Romans 14:6 and 1 Corinthians 10:30-31). But the most important passage in the Bible about mealtime prayers is 1 Timothy 4:3-5. I’ve color-coded this passage to show you the repetition of what Paul is saying. Paul says that some false teachers “order (people) to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For 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.” Notice that Paul is saying the same thing three times: Food comes from God and is therefore acceptable to eat and we should thank God for it. The last line (“the word of God and prayer”) sums up Paul’s message well: we should remember that the Bible says that God made all food good, and we should always say a prayer of thanks to God for it.

What does the Bible say we should do before we eat? The Bible is clear: remember that our food is from God and thank him for it. However, there are at least a couple instances (Mark 8:7 and Luke 9:16) where Jesus did something else: he prayed a blessing on the meal, probably asking God to purify it. From this we can see that asking God to bless our food by removing harmful substances is also biblical.

In your mealtime prayers with your family, acknowledge that your food comes from God and thank him for it. Also feel free to ask God to bless your food and make it healthy for you. But in everything you say in your mealtime prayer, “do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

By God’s Grace,

Pastor Stephen