A friend of mine and I were musing one day about the ritual of praying before we ate. He jokingly utted the prayer, "Rub a dub dub, thanks for the grub." I crossed myself and we dug in. Another friend joined us and upon hearing our conversation looked heavenward and simply said, "You know I'm thankful." Don't think we were being disrespectful or sac religious. We had gathered at breakfast to spend an hour in prayer, seeking God's will together.
Ironically, however, that is about how many look at prayer. For some, if you swallow one bite of food without praying for your meal, you've ruined it and you'll probably have indigestion for the rest of the day or maybe the week. For some, the words they utter before they devour are as meaningless as my friend's facetious prayer. For some, "The Blessing" magically transforms this ordinary food into holy food which directly goes to the healthful "nourishment to our bodies" even if it's sugar-filled, greasy or high in saturated fat. For some there's barely an acknowledgment of God's involvement in our lives.
The habit of praying before you eat is not to be about dogmatism, ritual or token acknowledgment of God's presence. It's to be a sincere appreciation of God's involvement, concern, provision and protection. Unfortunately for many, the few words spoken aloud or breathed in silence at a meal may be the only time they even stop to recognize God during the day. And because of the harriedness of the day, even that sometimes slides by unattended.
The point of prayer in the first place is to invite God into your life. When teaching His followers to pray, Jesus instructed them to begin by focusing on our relationship with God, asking Him to exercise His will in our life. We share our need with a heart of submission and authenticity, recognizing our dependence and desire for God's involvement. We ask for God's Spirit to continue to transform us into the image of His son. We ask for the ability to offer grace, mercy and forgiveness.
That kind of prayer doesn't happen in 10-15 seconds before we dine on our delectables. That kind of prayer stems from a deep desire to know and pursue God in every element of our life.
God, forgive me when I insult you with my brash or insolent attitude. You're more than a passing thought or personal ritual to bring good luck to my life. God, your the center of my life. I need and want you involved in my daily activities. I thirst and hunger for you.
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