Thanks for the Grub, Yay God!
The CNN religion blog is doing a survey about praying before meals. And of course, as soon as saying grace is mentioned I think of this crazy scene from Talladega Nights ( a movie that I have never seen, by the way). If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here it is in edited form for sensitive ears…
This brings up lots of questions for me… Do you pray before meals? Do you do it all the time, including in restaurants, or only when it feels right? Do you pray before all meals and snacks or only some? Why do you (or don’t you) say grace? Is Talladega Nights as stupid as it looks?
I’ll be honest, we have never been big on saying grace as a family. I’m not really sure why. I guess it has always felt a little stiff and scripted to me. I suppose we should do it more.
We have been making more of a concerted effort to pray before meals. Just simply thanking Him for sustaining us and providing for us another day, another meal. It's never lengthy or intricate, just thankfulness.
yes i pray and say grace for every meal and i whisper a quick thank you when i eat snacks. i teach my son to say thank you to God as well
i try to never take the fact that i have food on my plate for granted….coz there was a season where i couldnt even afford to buy groceries for my family….and coming from a 3rd world country…i know and have seen that people are starving coz they have no food and im very fortunate to always have an overflow of food on my plate.
We do it. I kind of prefer to do a silent “thank You” just between me and God, but my husband is very big on the family prayer…..so that is how it goes down at our house.
On the Talladega Nights question…yes. Yes it is.
“Dear Lord, thank you for this food, may it be blessed to the nourishment of our bodies, in Jesus's name, Amen.” My dad prays this prayer at every meal, and I will never forget it, because he's the man who taught me how to pray.
My husband and I (well… let's be honest, mostly I) are trying to get into the habit of praying before meals. He was raised in a family that never prayed, so it feels incredibly awkward, even at Sunday lunch when we've just left church. I don't know if it's the actual praying over food that's awkward or the praying in front of each other. While it still isn't a habit, I am working on making it a part of our routine. I think there's a freshness, though, because it makes each prayer different and thought-out, instead of saying the same routine prayer which can become stale if not said with intention.
Ironically, I hardly ever forget to ask the little boy I nanny for to pray. But I forget to pray myself. And his prayers are always different. He blesses everything in sight and then finally gets to the food and lets me say amen. I hope that, while I'm trying to create a new habit in my family, that I am helping him create a healthy routine as well.
Also… Talladega Nights was filmed here in Charlotte and I actually live in the same town as many of the NASCAR families and fans… I even work for a NASCAR family. So the stereotypes about NASCAR fans are funny to me, but maybe that's just me. It's one of my husband's favorite movies… But yes, it is as dumb as it looks. It adds to the charm!
I grew up with “Dear Lord Jesus, Be our guest, Let these gifts to us be blessed.” For some reason, as a child, I felt the need to add the word “apple” afterwards. I have no idea why.
We say grace before every meal we eat as a family, and if I am alone, I say a silent prayer. My husband and I have debated on whether grace should be just for the food, or whether we should add in other requests and praises as well. He feels the first, I feel whatever I am moved to pray for. I have to say that the only place that I am intimidated to bow my head is at school in the faculty lunch room. I eat with fellow Christians and those who go to church, but for some reason the “others” in the room intimidate me. I thank God silently as I am walking to lunch, but I often wonder if that's enough.
My daughter when to a private school through 5th grade. A prayer she learned in 1st grade is the one she prayed every single night she lived at home. When she came to visit 2 weeks ago, it's like she'd never been gone! She will be 24 in September.
“We thank-you, Lord, for happy hearts, for rain & sunny weather. We thank-you, Lord, for this our food & that we are together. Amen.”.
I'm laughing SO hard right now………I hated this movie but LOVED this part!
As for saying grace, my husband & I do on occasion. It's never become a ritual for us. My mom & stepdad, on the other hand, ALWAYS say grace. And my in-laws, well, only during family dinners that we hold during the holidays.
I think praying before meals is one of those things that can become so legalistic & religious that it no longer means anything. At the same time, what saying grace ought to remind us is that what we've been given has been given by the grace of God.
I think we need to make this a better practice at our house.
Thank you for sharing your perspective. It blessed me to read it.
I assumed it was a crappy movie. NASCAR is crappy enough without making a movie out of it!
WHat a great memory of your father. I love that. And I want to be as thankful as the little boy you nanny for. Faith like a child, right? :)
I feel strange in mixed company (with coworkers for example) too.
That is so sweet :)
My family are the holiday types too. Ironic since I would never treat church that way.
Sometimes. But most of the time, no.
Sometimes, my husband and I thank God during or after the meal, after we have tasted it, and then we are thankful.
In all seriousness, this is a hard thing, because sometimes I feel it can be a little 'legalistic' for Christians… I think God would want us to pray when we are truly thankful, not just because we are about to eat. I know it is not always about the 'feeling' of thankfulness, but I do believe we need to have a grateful attitude, because otherwise it is just for the ritual. Christians feel a serious obligation/pressure sometimes to pray before a meal (I know, I have felt it!), and that is just ridiculous when it comes to having a relationship with God. I would not what my children to drone out every time before they eat, 'Thanks mom for making this food.' I want them to tell me when they are ACTUALLY thankful for that food…before, during, or after the meal.
Our families prays before dinner every night and before lunch if we are eating together. We rarely eat breakfast together and I don't think any of us prays before we eat breakfast. Maybe oatmeal and coffee don't need to be blessed?
We do short prayers in restaurants (and then leave big tips so they won't think we are hypocrites).
I know, we've eaten with you. You're a heathen. ;)
It's always felt a little legalistic to me too.
The part about not being hypocrites cracked me up! So true!