Apples of Gold
Radio Script for December 23, 2008
“Should We Pray Before We Eat?”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
We always pray before we eat.
It doesn’t matter where we are, we stop and give thanks for the food.
Whether it’s a fancy restaurant or fast food, we stop, bow our heads and thank God.
I like it when the kids invite their friends along. Sometimes we push tables together; ten or fifteen people causing a stir in the restaurant with all the buzz and chatter. But then just before we eat – silence.
And someone thanks the Lord.
And then almost unconsciously, when the prayer is done, there is a chorus of amens.
This is all perfectly natural for us, but in our world today it stands out. I remember one time we prayed at Cracker Barrel and a lady came by to thank us. “You don’t see that very often,” she said, “And I just wanted to say how much I appreciate it.”
Now we don’t do it to draw attention. We aren’t pretentious. We aren’t loud. We just do it because it is important.
Sometimes at home I give a little reminder before we pray. I’ll say something like, “I know we take this food for granted. But not everyone has food. So we need to be serious for a moment and truly thank God for this blessing.”
If you were raised this way, you probably don’t think anything of it. Praying before a meal is second nature.
But maybe you weren’t. Or maybe you were, but don’t like it. Maybe it seems like an odd religious ritual. So why do it?
In Matthew 14:19, just before Jesus fed the five thousand, it says he took the loaves and fish, looked up to heaven, and “He gave thanks.”
In Matthew 15 Jesus repeated the miracle to feed four thousand, and once again before they ate, He gave thanks.
That may sound like an incidental to the story, but now look at John 6:23. It tells of people on boats, and it says they “landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.”
Now isn’t that interesting? Of all the things they could have said about that location, they brought up that wee little incidental. It was where the people ate “after the Lord had given thanks.”
In Matthew 26, during the Last Supper, Jesus took the bread and “gave thanks” before they ate it.
In Luke 24, after His resurrection, Jesus joined two men in Emmaus for a meal. Before they ate, Jesus stopped and gave thanks.
In Acts 27, Paul was on a ship full of people. After a time of danger, Paul encouraged them all to eat. Then verse 35 says, “…he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat.”
First Corinthians 10:30 mentions eating a meal with thankfulness, thanking God for the food.
Now some people will point out that there is no law in the Bible about praying before meals, and that’s true. It is not a legal requirement. So why do it?
Well, in addition to the examples of Jesus and Paul, we have First Timothy 4:3 which says that God created food “to be received with thanksgiving…”
Then we have some sweeping, overall instructions about being thankful, such as Ephesians 5:20 which tells us to always give thanks to God the Father for everything.
Colossians 2:7 says we should be “overflowing with thankfulness.”
Colossians 3:17 says that whatever we do, we should do it with thanksgiving to God.
First Thessalonians 5:18 says to “give thanks in all circumstances…”
Now none of this requires a public, out-loud prayer before eating. But I’ve found it a great way to remember to be thankful, to be thankful on purpose.
Yes, it could be a silent prayer, but then that’s not exactly “overflowing with thankfulness.”
Now, I don’t pray before every molecule of food enters my mouth. And in certain circumstances I don’t make it public at all, not because I’m ashamed, but just because sometimes it’s out of place.
And right before a meal is not a good time to launch into a long prayer. The food is ready. People are hungry. To stretch it out is just irritating.
So don’t make it irritating. Don’t annoy people. But do overflow with thankfulness. Give thanks in all circumstances, and that includes mealtime.
So I say, pray before you eat. It may not be a law, but it’s a wonderful habit that reminds us to be thankful, and I think it pleases the heart of God.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2008 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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