神马文学网Grace Before Meals: Mealtime Prayers
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As featured inDaniel Sheehan‘s Thanksgiving, 2006 article on grace.Grace Before Meals: Mealtime Prayers
Tenth Edition published March 11, 2005Introduction
The first release of this document was a collection of mealtime prayers contributed by members of theAnglican Mailing List in 1997. Since its publication on the Web, many others have contributed as well. I have updated this page several times since then. (This is the Tenth Edition.) If you have a prayer to add,please contact me. You may not hear from me until I have added your prayer.
Also feel free to addyour comments.
This was so successful that I started another project: if you have abedtime prayer to add,I would like to hear from you.Sections
Variations of Common PrayerAt a WeddingOther SourcesChildren‘s Prayers
New since the Ninth Edition:Thank you Lord Jesus for this food…,O Lord, we pray thy blessings…,Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you for the food we share tonight… (at a wedding),We thank thee Lord, For this our food…,Dear Lord, thank you for this food…
Also see:Small Graces, written and compiled by Anne Sandall, parishioner ofGrace Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado Thetable grace collection by Carmel United Methodist Church, Carmel, Indiana
Variations of Common Prayer
All of these can be traced to the 1928 and 1979 Episcopal books of common prayer, and the Roman Catholic church.
Give us grateful hearts, O Father, for all thy mercies, and make us mindful of the needs of others; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Source: 1928 Book of Common Prayer)Contributed by Andrew Wright
Bless O Lord this food {these gifts} to our use and us to thy loving service; and keep us ever mindful of the needs of others. Amen.Contributed by Richard Konopka
Bless, O Lord, this food for thy use, and make us ever mindful of the wants and needs of others. Amen.Contributed by Ed Bailey
Bless O Lord, this food to our use,
And us to thy loving service;
And make us ever mindful of the needs of others,
For Jesus‘ sake. Amen.Contributed by Alan K. Jackson
Bless this food to our use, and us to thy service, and make us ever mindful of the needs of others. Amen.
For the bounty laid before us, may the Lord make us thankful, and ever mindful of the needs of others. Amen.Contributed by Ellen Rains Harris
My devout Presbyterian mother always says this blessing before a meal:
Dear Lord, bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies and us to thy service. In Christ‘s name we pray, Amen.Contrubuted by Dorothy B. Burch
Thank you, Lord, for this food which is set before us. May we use it to nourish our bodies, and thee to nourish our souls. Make us ever more mindful of the needs of others, and the needs of our planet. Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.Contributed by Thomas H. Harbold
My mother was raised Roman Catholic; my father Methodist. Like many such "mixed" couples, they found a home in the Episcopal church as a bridge between the Catholics and Protestants. Since I was a child, I have noticed that whenever I break bread with Roman Catholic families, they say the same prayer that my family has always said (thanks to my mother‘s Roman influence, no doubt).
Bless us, O Lord, for these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Through Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.Contributed by Tim Chambers
Bless us, O Lord, for these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Help us to be mindful of all our blessings, and the needs of those who have less. Amen.Contributed by Art Laurent
My sons are now almost 12 and 14. When they were young, I introduced them to different prayers. As a matter of fact, collecting prayers to teach them was my key motivation for starting this project. They started with children‘s prayers (God is great,God our Father, andJohnny Appleseed). They are now Boy Scouts and give thanks at least once every summer camp with thePhilmont Grace. I taught them what I learned from my parents (bless us, O Lord), and it‘s always a familiar comfort to pray that way together when our extended family gathers for a meal. However, after editing this collection for seven years, I have settled on this variation of a traditional Anglican prayer as my favorite. I encourage my sons also to pray spontaneously, but our family has made this our standard. Many complain that memorized prayers lose their meaning with repetition, but I experience a mystical, amplifying effect when all gathered around the table are praying in unison.
Dear Lord, thank you for this food.
Bless the hands that prepared it.
Bless it to our use and us to your service,
And make us ever mindful of the needs of others.
Through Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.Contributed by Tim ChambersAt a Wedding
Heavenly Father, we ask you to bless this food and those who prepared it and those who will serve it. We also ask your blessing on [bride‘s name] and [bridegroom‘s name] who have come to you this day to unite themselves to you in love and sacrament, and upon their families. In Jesus‘ love.... Amen.Contributed by Don Muench
Peter Dunbar, vicar of Upper Nidderdale in North Yorkshire (UK), composed this prayer:
For good food and those who prepare it, for good friends with whom to share it, we thank you Lord. Amen.
At weddings he adds: and for the love which [bride‘s name] and [bridegroom‘s name] have for each other, we thank you ....
Also from Rev. Dunbar:
A Methodist friend of mine (Eileen from Summerbridge) gave me this one:There once was a cock and a hen,
Who gave lunch to a goose in a pen.
"Good Lord" said the goose,
"Bless this food for our use
And us to thy service. Amen."
The first part of this I wrote for my niece‘s wedding. The blessing I found on the net.
Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you for the food we share tonight,
in celebration of [bride‘s name] and [bridegroom‘s name]‘s marriage
We thank you for the love, guidance and support of our parents, family and friends
We thank you for making this day so enjoyable, and bless those that have worked hard to
make this day a success for [bride‘s name] and [bridegroom‘s name]
Thank you Lord for the freedom we have in our lives and the beautiful country we enjoy it in
Heavenly Father, we ask this blessing for the newly married couple,(Jack)
May their love be firm, and may their dream of life together be a river between two shores--
by day bathed in sunlight, and by night illuminated from within.
May the heron carry news of them to the heavens, and the salmon bring the sea‘s blue grace.
May their twin thoughts spiral upward like leafy vines, like fiddle strings in the wind,
and be as noble as the Douglas fir.
May they never find themselves back to back without love pulling them around into each other‘s arms. Amen.(Adapted from a verse by James Bertolino)Contributed by B J Murphy
Good Lord - Bless these sinners as they eat their dinners. Amen
For Bacon, Eggs and Buttered Toast,
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost
Another that I have used at weddings is
For sumptuous food and tender roast,
For the invitation from our gracious host;
For [bride‘s name] whom [bridegroom‘s name] loves the most;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost AmenContributed by Revd Peter Holloway (Anglican Diocese of Bendigo - Australia)Other Sources
For food in a world where many walk in hunger;
For faith in a world where many walk in fear;
For friends in a world where many walk alone;
We give you thanks, O Lord. Amen.
(Source: Huron Hunger Fund, Anglican Church of Canada)Contributed by Bob Chandler, M.S.W.
Let us thank God for food when others are hungry; for drink when others are thirsty; for friends when others are lonely. Amen.
(Source: a friend in Seattle)Contributed by David Calhoun German English
Alles das wir haben, All that we have,
Alles ist gegaben. is all a gift.
Es kommt, O Gott, von dir, It comes, O God, from you;
Wir danken dir dafuer. We thank you for it.
Contributed by Irv Cutter
Let us lift our eyes toward the sanctuary of heaven and bless the Lord. Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with Thy commandments and brought forth this food from the earth. (+)Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts which we are about to receive from thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The first portion is the Jewish Berakah for meals. I use this form when there is nothing liturgically significant happening. I change "thy commandments" when appropriate to something like "sanctified us through the Advent of thy Son" or "this season of Lent" or "the preaching of St. Augustine".Contributed by Rebecca A. Maloy
Rebecca A. Maloy wrote, "Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with Thy commandments..."
To keep everyone on their toes, once in a while you could say, "who hast sanctified us with thy mitzvot..."
:^)Contributed by Scott R. Knitter
The family of one of my sisters-in-law (Methodist, but Wesley was an Anglican) has one (the "Wesley Grace," they call it, though whether or not it dates back to J.W. I don‘t know) which is sung to the tune of "Praise God from whom all blessings flow":
Be present at our table, Lord!
Be here and everywhere adored.
Your mercies bless, and grant that we
May feast in Paradise with Thee! Amen.
At least, I think I‘m remembering the words correctly. This is usually sung holding hands around the table, followed by an extemporaneous prayer.Contributed by Thomas H. Harbold
James Elliott,Tallahassee, Florida, comments: "This is sung at our table to the tune of Tallis‘ Canon, aka The Eighth Tune by Thomas Tallis (1505-1585), number 25 in the Episcopal Hymnal 1982 edition, and is also mentioned in Madeline L‘Engle‘s books (I cannot remember if it‘s the Arm of the Starfish Series, or the Austin Family series or both!) as being sung at the table to this tune (which is where we got the idea, if I remember correctly!)"
The version I know reads in the third line "Thy creatures bless, and grant that we..." -- Michael Bishop
The version John F. Burkhalter is familiar with is:Be present at our table, Lord
Be here and everywhere adored
Thy mercies bless and grant that we
May strengthened for thy service be.
Versicle and Response (Ps 145:16-17):
V: The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord,
R: and you give them their food in due season.
V: You open wide your hand
R: and satisfy the needs of every living creature.
Gloria Patri (Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.)Contributed by Andrew Wright
We use a common prayer but we generally add a specific prayer request which is relevant to what is happening at that time in our lives. For instance, from May 1994 until March of 1996, my sister was battling cancer so we would ask the Lord to heal and comfort her. After she went home to be with the Lord a custody battle forced us to give up her two children who had been living with us for two years. My youngest son, who often is the one who prays, was devastated. So he prays every day for their return and their happiness. I‘ve rambled long enough; here‘s the prayer.
Dear Lord, we thank you for this food, and we ask that you bless it and make it to nourish our bodies, and (please watch over Jon and Kristina).
or
Dear Lord, we thank you for this food, and we ask that you bless it and make it to nourish our bodies. Thank you for the time we have together, and bless the fellowship we share, and (please watch over Jon and Kristina).
I‘ve found that the kids treat grace as an opportunity to talk about their concerns. It gives us all a chance to show how we can communicate with God.Contributed by
8. GRACE BEFORE MEALS
The eyes of all wait upon you, O God,
And you give them their food in due season.
You open wide your hand
and fill all things living with plenteousness.
Bless, O Lord, these gifts to our use and us in your service;
relieve the needs of those in want and give us thankful hearts;
for Christ‘s sake. Amen.
Or:
Bless us, O Lord, who bless your holy name
and by this food, feed us for your holy service. Amen.
9. GRACE AFTER MEALS
All your works praise you, O God,
And your faithful servants bless you.
They make known the glory of your kingdom
And speak of your power.
For these and all God‘s gifts and graces,
let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Or:
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all his benefits.
Blessed be God, eternal king,
for these and all his good gifts to us. Amen.
Source: Celebrating Common Prayer: The Pocket Version, p. 274, Copyright © Society of St Francis, 1994)Contributed by Simon Kershaw
We were racing through half-heard formulae until my husband, who was conducting a seminar on the psalms, suddenly suggested that we work our way through the psalter in six verse bits read before each meal. This has worked out wonderfully, although perhaps people will object that it is not really grace. Still, it often--even usually--starts out a dinner table conversation on matters theological. That is especially wonderful, I think, for my thirteen year old, who gets to ask questions in a general conversation instead of in a self-conscious teaching-the-young context. She gets to see when we are puzzled, in addition to witnessing the things we feel sure about. As for the psalms not always being consistant with the theme of gratitude for gifts given, I take some comfort from the thought that they were, as I understand it, used as worship--some of our best conversations have arisen from the issue of how such angry, sad, bloodthirsty poems fit with a loving, giving God. As we try to answer that, we learn a lot about gratitude for all things.Contributed by Grant Franks
I thought I‘d pass along the grace my family always used. I don‘t know where it originated but we‘ve said it before meals ever since I was a small boy. The grace we used seems more than likely a children‘s prayer. Do with it what you will. (For what it‘s worth, I‘ve been an Episcopalian all my life.)
For all we eat, and all we wear,
For daily bread, and nightly care,
we thank thee heavenly Father. Amen.Contributed by Kem White
A prayer passed through our family:
Our Dear Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for this food. Feed our souls on the bread of life and help us to do our part in kind words and loving deeds. We ask in Jesus‘ name. Amen.Contributed by Kathy Batman
Blessed art Thou, Lord of all Creation. Through your goodness we have this gifts for our use, the fruit of your bounty and the work of human hands. As they become part of our substance may they give you honor and glory. Amen.Contributed by Manuel Vazquez
Thank you for publishing this lovely collection of table graces, and please permit me to add another which was used in my family.
Gracious heavenly Father, accept our thanks for this food; pardon all our sins, and save us for Christ‘s sake. Amen.Contributed by Laurence K. Wells
Our family does not use the same grace at each meal and in fact, I try to encourage the children to take turns giving thanks their own way. One way that we do this is with a "squeeze prayer." Holding hands, each person prays, then squeezes the next hand when finished.Contributed by Holly . (Also the first of many contributors of the next prayer.)
Come Lord Jesus be our guest, let this food to us be blessed. Amen.
Carole and Buddy Sokol commented: "Our family uses [this] prayer at meal time. My children are 4, 6, and 8 so this is short, sweet and gets the point across;" calls it a "favorite mealtime prayer;" and Marilyn Gardner notes it is her family‘s "common prayer before meals (Lutheran, Missouri Synod)."
Jeff Culbreath added:
As former Lutherans and relatively new Anglicans, we occasionally use an old Lutheran table prayer that has been passed down through many generations:Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let these gifts to us be blessed. O give thanks unto the Lord for He is good, and His mercy endures forever. Amen.
I was involved in hispanic work a few years ago. Here is a hispanic Lutheran table prayer.
Spanish English
Cristo, pan de vida, Christ, bread of life,
Ven y bendice esta comida. Amen Come and bless this food. Amen
Contributed by James Harris
I thought I‘d add my family‘s grace -- said before meals in my (Anglican) family since before my 70something father was born. I thought it was pretty standard, but didn‘t see it in your listing.
For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful. AmenContributed by Pat Wong
I don‘t know the origin of this, but it‘s universal on the rather large Methodist side of my family.
Our Heavenly Father, kind and good,
we thank Thee for our daily food.
We thank Thee for Thy love and care.
Be with us Lord, and hear our prayer.
Amen.Contributed by David Hall
Lord Jesus be our holy guest,
our morning joy, our evening rest,
and with our daily bread impart,
your love and peace to every heart. Amen.
I have forgotten whence this has come, but everyone likes it when I use it.Contributed by Christopher Heath
I learned this when I was very young, and sometimes still say it today.
We thank Thee, Heavenly Provider,
for every earthly good:
for life and health and family,
and for our daily food. Amen.Contributed by A Watkins
Here is a prayer from my mom‘s grandfather, who became a sincere Christian as he converted from Judaism before he married my great-grandmother. My mother remembers they lived in a grand old brick row-house. Our family has newspaper clippings of him singing Gospel songs as he drove streetcars on the cobbled streets of old Philadelphia. He was a member of the First Brethren Church of Philadelphia (the denomination was Grace Brethren).
Pop Pop‘s Prayer
We thank thee Lord, For this our food,
For life and health and all things good.
May manna to our souls be given:
The bread of life sent down from heaven.
These favors we ask in Christ‘s name. Amen.Contributed by [name withheld by request]
This is the grace spoken over meals of my Apostolic-Pentecostal family.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for this food that we are about to receive for the nourishment of our bodies. Please cleanse it from impurities, in Jesus‘ name. Amen.Contributed by
My grandfather (a Methodist) said this prayer all his life and we did also as kids growing up:
Come Lord Jesus, be our guest,
May this food by thee be blest,
May our souls by thee be fed,
Ever on the living Bread.Contributed by
This is one of the variations my grandfather used. He was a long time member of the Old German Baptist Church.
Most Holy, Righteous and everywhere present God,
our Father who art in Heaven,
we ask thy blessing upon this food.
Bless the hearts and hands that provide the same.
And when it is ours to pass from time to eternity,
own us and crown us heirs to Thy kingdom.
These favors and blessings we ask in the name of Christ,
our Great Redeemer. Amen.Contributed by Steve Jones
I ... would like to share the blessing my grandmother (she‘s from Bermuda and Anglican) would say when she visited us during our childhood:
From thy hand cometh every good,
We thank thee for our daily food.
And with it Lord, thy blessing give,
And to thy glory may we live. Amen.Contributed by Lisa Widowski
Lord God, Heavenly Father, bless us and these Thy Gifts which we receive through Thy bountiful Goodness, through Jesus Christ our Lord.AmenContributed by Paul C. GutzHere are four more prayers our family used to say at the table when I was a child:For these and all Thy gifts of love,
We give Thee thanks and praise.
Look down upon us from above,
And bless us all our days. Amen. Morning: Noon: Evening:
For our restful sleep at night,
For the rain and sunshine bright,
For the love that Thou dost send,
For our homes and for each friend,
Heavenly Father, we thank Thee. Amen For the day and all its pleasures,
Grateful thanks we render now.
May our lives pass on the blessings,
None can give to us, but Thou. Amen. A parting hymn we sing,
Around Thy table, Lord.
Again our grateful tribute bring,
Our thanks to Thee accord. Amen.
Contributed by Larry Collister
There is a sort of table grace attributed to Oliver Cromwell:
Some have hunger, but no meat;
Some have meat, but no hunger;
I have both.
God be praised!Contributed by Mel Johnson
I "composed" this meal time prayer a few years ago...
Father, thank you for allowing us to share this meal together.
Send your Spirit to bless these gifts which you give us to sustain our
lives.
We thank you for them, and for ALL you blessings,
in the name of you Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.Contributed by Michael Sclafani
An old Boston brahmin prayer:
Some have food,
Some have none,
God bless the revolution!Contributed by Rob Flynn
This Grace is sung to the tune "Edelweiss" from "The Sound of Music":
Bless our friends,
Bless our food,
Come, O Lord and sit with us.
May our talk
Glow with peace;
Come with your love to surround us.
Friendship and love
May they bloom and glow,
Bloom and glow forever.
Bless our friends,
Bless our food,
Bless all mankind forever.
Contributed by Alan Lilley
Scott A Deuel adds these variations:
I‘m not sure how to communicate to you the tune to which this is sung, but it is the same for both prayers. They are taken from The Upper Room‘s Walk To Emmaus handbook.
Blessing before meals:
Bless our friends, bless our food.
Come, O Lord, and sit with us.
May our talk glow with peace,
Bring your love to surround us.
Friendship and peace, may it bloom
And grow, bloom and grow forever.
Bless our friends, bless our food,
Bless our dear land forever.
Thanks After Meals:
Hear our thanks, Father God.
Thanks, O Son, for being with us.
Thanks for words giving peace.
Urging love strong, sincere.Friendship and peace, may it bloom
And grow, bloom and grow forever.
Thanks for friends, thanks for food,
Thanks for freedom, dear Father.
My grandfather‘s (1890-1992):
Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for this food. Bless it to our strength and to thy glory.
Growing up:
Come Lord Jesus, be our guest, and bless what thou provided hast. (Sometimes I like the archaic syntax better!)
Recently from my mom:
Around this happy table may no evil ever come,
but health and peace and happiness make up our daily sum.Contributed by r
Lord we thank thee for guiding, blessing, and protecting us.
Bless this food to its intended use.
Amen.Contributed by Paul Goble
Here are a few prayers from a booklet called "Graces with a Celtic Flavor": I hope you can use these, we do, trying out different ones for different occasions, especially on the Celtic Saint‘s feast days (St. Patrick, St. Brigid, St. Columba, St. David, etc.):
The first set are well-known and in the public domain:
The Selkirk Grace by Robert Burns: Contemporary Traditional
Some have meat and cannot eat;
Some cannot eat that want it:
But we have meat and we can eat
Sae let the Lord be thankit! Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some would eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit.
A traditional Irish Grace:
May the blessing of the five loaves and the two fishes which God shared out among the five thousand be ours. May the King who did the sharing bless our sharing and our co-sharing.
Traditional Irish #2
Bless, O Lord, this food we are about to eat; and we pray You, O God, that it may be good for our body and soul; and if there be any poor creature hungry or thirsty walking along the road, send them into us that we can share the food with them, just as You share your gifts with all of us.
Anonymous Irish Grace:
May this food restore our strength, giving new energy to tired limbs, now thoughts to weary minds. May this drink restore our souls, giving new vision to dry spirits, new warmth to cold hearts. And once refreshed, may we give new pleasure to You, who gives us all.
From the Carmina Gadelica collected by Alexander Carmichael, late 1800‘s:
Give us O God of the nourishing meal,
well-being to the body, the frame of the soul.
Give us O God of the honey-sweet milk,
the sap and the savor of the fragrant farms.
The second set may have been written especially for the pamphlet by Ray Simpson, of the Order of Aidan and Hilda, in England, but they were not credited as such:
God in our waking, God in our speaking;
God in our cooking, God in our eating;
God in our playing, God in our digesting;
God in our working, God in our Resting
In a world where so many are hungry,
may we eat this food with humble hearts;
in a world where so many are lonely,
May we share this friendship with joyful hearts.
And finally,
May this food so fresh and fragrant,
call forth reverence for You in our souls.
As you give this strength to our perishable limbs,
So give us grace for our immortal lives.
Contributed by James Elliott,Tallahassee, FloridaLynette Jackson contributed the traditional version of the Selkirk Grace. She adds, "This is used by my family (and many other Scots I suspect) and is the traditional grace for ‘Burns Night‘ where haggis, neaps and tattis are consumed along with much whiskey!"
To the tune of "Are you sleeping, Brother John". Can also be found on Steven Curtis Chapman‘s album "Heaven in the real world" . The song‘s name is "You‘re stil listening."
God our Father God our Father
Once again Once again
We bow our heads and thank You
Bow our heads and thank You
A-ah-men A-ah-menContributed by [name withheld by request]
This is not a grace for before meals, but one for fastdays, and when you are going to miss a meal as part of a fast (especially if the cost of the meal is being set aside for hunger relief):
Lord,
May the hunger of our flesh help feed our brothers and our sisters
May the hunger of our souls draw us to your feast.
Amen
Contributed by Alice Fulton
If I waste not, I‘ve learned one thing. Let not one crumb fall off my plate. For you will bless the foods I distaste; and you‘ll teach me to be thankful as I partake.Contributed by Mel and Judy
Here is our family‘s mealtime prayer:
For the blessings you‘ve bestowed upon this home and on this family,
For all the days we‘ve had together and all the days to come,
For the joys and sorrows that bind us ever closer,
For the trials we‘ve overcome,
And for teaching us that we can do no great things,
Only small things with great love,
Lord, we thank you.Contributed by Gerald Donnelly, Greensboro, NC
Here is a sectarian grace we have used in Boy Scouts for as long as I can remember, named for and perhaps originating from the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico:
Philmont Grace
For food, for raiment,
For life, for opportunity,
For friendship and fellowship . . .
We thank Thee, O Lord.Contributed by Bill Hansen, Former Scoutmaster
Lord, bless this food to our bodies, and, in turn, cause us to be a blessing to the Body of Christ.Contributed by Alan Willcox
This is a prayer we have used for quite some time. I think it says it all!
Our Father in Heaven,
For this meal you have given
We want to say thank you from our hearts.
Bless the ones who prepared it
And Lord as we share it
Will you stay with us
And be our guest of Honor.Contributed by Brent and Jan Hays,JB and Company
My great-grandfather John Adams Barnes, a devout Methodist, is reputed to have said the following grace. I did not see it reflected in the ones listed and it has meant quite a bit to our family as it has been passed down through the generations. It is as follows:
O Lord, we pray thy blessings, upon this food and upon our souls. Guide us through life and save us through Christ. Amen.Contributed by Priscilla Fenton Hament
Rub a dub dub; thanks for the grub; yeaaa God!Contributed by Andrew Wright
Bless, O Lord, this food to our use and us to thy service, and keep us ever mindful of the needs of others. In Jesus‘ Name. Amen.
We were already tempted, after an especially difficult day for my wife and five-year old daughter, to change it to "...ever mindful of the needs of mothers." Contributed by Steve Ketcham
All through my childhood, my family used a brief grace with hand motions, as follows: God bless us (hands on head)
God bless the food (hands aroud plate)
Amen (hands folded)
It has the advantage of being able to hold the attention of a hungry, antsy 3-year-old for its duration, without the irreverence of the "Yaaay God!" types of graces.
We also had a sung one (done holding hands), to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star:
Thank you for the food we eat,
Thank you for the world so sweet,
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you God for everything.
I‘ve always preferred participatory graces before meals to fold-your-hands-and-listen graces, although my high school youth group‘s tradition was pleasant. We always had dinner at our youth group meetings (brought by one or another member), and before we ate we would stand in a circle and the leaders would ask someone to give the blessing; what resulted was usually a short extemporaneous prayer to which we could all give a heartfelt "Amen". Contributed by Rachel Meredith Kadel
My five-year-old loves to belt out:
The Lord is good to me
and so I thank the Lord
for giving me the things I need
the sun and the rain and the apple seed.
The Lord is good to me.
Johnny Appleseed-Amen!Contributed by Dave Hazen
I just learned the second verse of the well-known children‘s prayer from my wife‘s niece:
God is great, God is good.
Let us thank him for our food.
By his hands, we are fed.
Let us thank him for our bread.
Amen.
Contributed by Tim Chambers
Thomas H. Harbold noted this variation to the second verse:
... By his hands we all are fed,
Give us, Lord, our daily bread. Amen.
Kirk Delzell contributed this variation:
... Now we thank him for our food.
Gonna thank him morning and night
We gonna thank our God
because he is out of sight.
Tim Chambers adds, My son also learned this at day care as a prelude to "God is great…" Kids do the actions specified by the words ("them" refers to hands):Open shut them, open shut them,
Give a little clap, clap, clap.
Open shut them, open shut them,
Put them in your lap, lap, lap.God is Grace, God is Good.
Let us thank him for this food. Amen.
That‘s what we used to say in Pre-school. --Perfect12c@aol.com
(Sung to the tune of Are You Sleeping, Brother John?)
God our Father, God our Father,
We thank you, we thank you,
For our many blessings, for our many blessings,
A-ah-men, A-ah-men.
As featured inDaniel Sheehan‘s Thanksgiving, 2006 article on grace.Grace Before Meals: Mealtime Prayers
Tenth Edition published March 11, 2005Introduction
The first release of this document was a collection of mealtime prayers contributed by members of theAnglican Mailing List in 1997. Since its publication on the Web, many others have contributed as well. I have updated this page several times since then. (This is the Tenth Edition.) If you have a prayer to add,please contact me. You may not hear from me until I have added your prayer.
Also feel free to addyour comments.
This was so successful that I started another project: if you have abedtime prayer to add,I would like to hear from you.Sections
Variations of Common PrayerAt a WeddingOther SourcesChildren‘s Prayers
New since the Ninth Edition:Thank you Lord Jesus for this food…,O Lord, we pray thy blessings…,Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you for the food we share tonight… (at a wedding),We thank thee Lord, For this our food…,Dear Lord, thank you for this food…
Also see:Small Graces, written and compiled by Anne Sandall, parishioner ofGrace Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado Thetable grace collection by Carmel United Methodist Church, Carmel, Indiana
Variations of Common Prayer
All of these can be traced to the 1928 and 1979 Episcopal books of common prayer, and the Roman Catholic church.
Give us grateful hearts, O Father, for all thy mercies, and make us mindful of the needs of others; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Source: 1928 Book of Common Prayer)Contributed by Andrew Wright
Bless O Lord this food {these gifts} to our use and us to thy loving service; and keep us ever mindful of the needs of others. Amen.Contributed by Richard Konopka
Bless, O Lord, this food for thy use, and make us ever mindful of the wants and needs of others. Amen.Contributed by Ed Bailey
Bless O Lord, this food to our use,
And us to thy loving service;
And make us ever mindful of the needs of others,
For Jesus‘ sake. Amen.Contributed by Alan K. Jackson
Bless this food to our use, and us to thy service, and make us ever mindful of the needs of others. Amen.
For the bounty laid before us, may the Lord make us thankful, and ever mindful of the needs of others. Amen.Contributed by Ellen Rains Harris
My devout Presbyterian mother always says this blessing before a meal:
Dear Lord, bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies and us to thy service. In Christ‘s name we pray, Amen.Contrubuted by Dorothy B. Burch
Thank you, Lord, for this food which is set before us. May we use it to nourish our bodies, and thee to nourish our souls. Make us ever more mindful of the needs of others, and the needs of our planet. Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.Contributed by Thomas H. Harbold
My mother was raised Roman Catholic; my father Methodist. Like many such "mixed" couples, they found a home in the Episcopal church as a bridge between the Catholics and Protestants. Since I was a child, I have noticed that whenever I break bread with Roman Catholic families, they say the same prayer that my family has always said (thanks to my mother‘s Roman influence, no doubt).
Bless us, O Lord, for these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Through Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.Contributed by Tim Chambers
Bless us, O Lord, for these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Help us to be mindful of all our blessings, and the needs of those who have less. Amen.Contributed by Art Laurent
My sons are now almost 12 and 14. When they were young, I introduced them to different prayers. As a matter of fact, collecting prayers to teach them was my key motivation for starting this project. They started with children‘s prayers (God is great,God our Father, andJohnny Appleseed). They are now Boy Scouts and give thanks at least once every summer camp with thePhilmont Grace. I taught them what I learned from my parents (bless us, O Lord), and it‘s always a familiar comfort to pray that way together when our extended family gathers for a meal. However, after editing this collection for seven years, I have settled on this variation of a traditional Anglican prayer as my favorite. I encourage my sons also to pray spontaneously, but our family has made this our standard. Many complain that memorized prayers lose their meaning with repetition, but I experience a mystical, amplifying effect when all gathered around the table are praying in unison.
Dear Lord, thank you for this food.
Bless the hands that prepared it.
Bless it to our use and us to your service,
And make us ever mindful of the needs of others.
Through Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.Contributed by Tim Chambers
Heavenly Father, we ask you to bless this food and those who prepared it and those who will serve it. We also ask your blessing on [bride‘s name] and [bridegroom‘s name] who have come to you this day to unite themselves to you in love and sacrament, and upon their families. In Jesus‘ love.... Amen.Contributed by Don Muench
Peter Dunbar
For good food and those who prepare it, for good friends with whom to share it, we thank you Lord. Amen.
At weddings he adds: and for the love which [bride‘s name] and [bridegroom‘s name] have for each other, we thank you ....
Also from Rev. Dunbar:
A Methodist friend of mine (Eileen from Summerbridge) gave me this one:There once was a cock and a hen,
Who gave lunch to a goose in a pen.
"Good Lord" said the goose,
"Bless this food for our use
And us to thy service. Amen."
The first part of this I wrote for my niece‘s wedding. The blessing I found on the net.
Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you for the food we share tonight,
in celebration of [bride‘s name] and [bridegroom‘s name]‘s marriage
We thank you for the love, guidance and support of our parents, family and friends
We thank you for making this day so enjoyable, and bless those that have worked hard to
make this day a success for [bride‘s name] and [bridegroom‘s name]
Thank you Lord for the freedom we have in our lives and the beautiful country we enjoy it in
Heavenly Father, we ask this blessing for the newly married couple,(Jack)
May their love be firm, and may their dream of life together be a river between two shores--
by day bathed in sunlight, and by night illuminated from within.
May the heron carry news of them to the heavens, and the salmon bring the sea‘s blue grace.
May their twin thoughts spiral upward like leafy vines, like fiddle strings in the wind,
and be as noble as the Douglas fir.
May they never find themselves back to back without love pulling them around into each other‘s arms. Amen.(Adapted from a verse by James Bertolino)Contributed by B J Murphy
Good Lord - Bless these sinners as they eat their dinners. Amen
For Bacon, Eggs and Buttered Toast,
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost
Another that I have used at weddings is
For sumptuous food and tender roast,
For the invitation from our gracious host;
For [bride‘s name] whom [bridegroom‘s name] loves the most;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost AmenContributed by Revd Peter Holloway
For food in a world where many walk in hunger;
For faith in a world where many walk in fear;
For friends in a world where many walk alone;
We give you thanks, O Lord. Amen.
(Source: Huron Hunger Fund, Anglican Church of Canada)Contributed by Bob Chandler, M.S.W.
Let us thank God for food when others are hungry; for drink when others are thirsty; for friends when others are lonely. Amen.
(Source: a friend in Seattle)Contributed by David Calhoun
Alles das wir haben, All that we have,
Alles ist gegaben. is all a gift.
Es kommt, O Gott, von dir, It comes, O God, from you;
Wir danken dir dafuer. We thank you for it.
Contributed by Irv Cutter
Let us lift our eyes toward the sanctuary of heaven and bless the Lord. Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with Thy commandments and brought forth this food from the earth. (+)Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts which we are about to receive from thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The first portion is the Jewish Berakah for meals. I use this form when there is nothing liturgically significant happening. I change "thy commandments" when appropriate to something like "sanctified us through the Advent of thy Son" or "this season of Lent" or "the preaching of St. Augustine".Contributed by Rebecca A. Maloy
Rebecca A. Maloy wrote, "Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with Thy commandments..."
To keep everyone on their toes, once in a while you could say, "who hast sanctified us with thy mitzvot..."
:^)Contributed by Scott R. Knitter
The family of one of my sisters-in-law (Methodist, but Wesley was an Anglican) has one (the "Wesley Grace," they call it, though whether or not it dates back to J.W. I don‘t know) which is sung to the tune of "Praise God from whom all blessings flow":
Be present at our table, Lord!
Be here and everywhere adored.
Your mercies bless, and grant that we
May feast in Paradise with Thee! Amen.
At least, I think I‘m remembering the words correctly. This is usually sung holding hands around the table, followed by an extemporaneous prayer.Contributed by Thomas H. Harbold
James Elliott
The version I know reads in the third line "Thy creatures bless, and grant that we..." -- Michael Bishop
The version John F. Burkhalter
Be here and everywhere adored
Thy mercies bless and grant that we
May strengthened for thy service be.
Versicle and Response (Ps 145:16-17):
V: The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord,
R: and you give them their food in due season.
V: You open wide your hand
R: and satisfy the needs of every living creature.
Gloria Patri (Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.)Contributed by Andrew Wright
We use a common prayer but we generally add a specific prayer request which is relevant to what is happening at that time in our lives. For instance, from May 1994 until March of 1996, my sister was battling cancer so we would ask the Lord to heal and comfort her. After she went home to be with the Lord a custody battle forced us to give up her two children who had been living with us for two years. My youngest son, who often is the one who prays, was devastated. So he prays every day for their return and their happiness. I‘ve rambled long enough; here‘s the prayer.
Dear Lord, we thank you for this food, and we ask that you bless it and make it to nourish our bodies, and (please watch over Jon and Kristina).
or
Dear Lord, we thank you for this food, and we ask that you bless it and make it to nourish our bodies. Thank you for the time we have together, and bless the fellowship we share, and (please watch over Jon and Kristina).
I‘ve found that the kids treat grace as an opportunity to talk about their concerns. It gives us all a chance to show how we can communicate with God.Contributed by
8. GRACE BEFORE MEALS
The eyes of all wait upon you, O God,
And you give them their food in due season.
You open wide your hand
and fill all things living with plenteousness.
Bless, O Lord, these gifts to our use and us in your service;
relieve the needs of those in want and give us thankful hearts;
for Christ‘s sake. Amen.
Or:
Bless us, O Lord, who bless your holy name
and by this food, feed us for your holy service. Amen.
9. GRACE AFTER MEALS
All your works praise you, O God,
And your faithful servants bless you.
They make known the glory of your kingdom
And speak of your power.
For these and all God‘s gifts and graces,
let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Or:
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all his benefits.
Blessed be God, eternal king,
for these and all his good gifts to us. Amen.
Source: Celebrating Common Prayer: The Pocket Version, p. 274, Copyright © Society of St Francis, 1994)Contributed by Simon Kershaw
We were racing through half-heard formulae until my husband, who was conducting a seminar on the psalms, suddenly suggested that we work our way through the psalter in six verse bits read before each meal. This has worked out wonderfully, although perhaps people will object that it is not really grace. Still, it often--even usually--starts out a dinner table conversation on matters theological. That is especially wonderful, I think, for my thirteen year old, who gets to ask questions in a general conversation instead of in a self-conscious teaching-the-young context. She gets to see when we are puzzled, in addition to witnessing the things we feel sure about. As for the psalms not always being consistant with the theme of gratitude for gifts given, I take some comfort from the thought that they were, as I understand it, used as worship--some of our best conversations have arisen from the issue of how such angry, sad, bloodthirsty poems fit with a loving, giving God. As we try to answer that, we learn a lot about gratitude for all things.Contributed by Grant Franks
I thought I‘d pass along the grace my family always used. I don‘t know where it originated but we‘ve said it before meals ever since I was a small boy. The grace we used seems more than likely a children‘s prayer. Do with it what you will. (For what it‘s worth, I‘ve been an Episcopalian all my life.)
For all we eat, and all we wear,
For daily bread, and nightly care,
we thank thee heavenly Father. Amen.Contributed by Kem White
A prayer passed through our family:
Our Dear Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for this food. Feed our souls on the bread of life and help us to do our part in kind words and loving deeds. We ask in Jesus‘ name. Amen.Contributed by Kathy Batman
Blessed art Thou, Lord of all Creation. Through your goodness we have this gifts for our use, the fruit of your bounty and the work of human hands. As they become part of our substance may they give you honor and glory. Amen.Contributed by Manuel Vazquez
Thank you for publishing this lovely collection of table graces, and please permit me to add another which was used in my family.
Gracious heavenly Father, accept our thanks for this food; pardon all our sins, and save us for Christ‘s sake. Amen.Contributed by Laurence K. Wells
Our family does not use the same grace at each meal and in fact, I try to encourage the children to take turns giving thanks their own way. One way that we do this is with a "squeeze prayer." Holding hands, each person prays, then squeezes the next hand when finished.Contributed by Holly
Come Lord Jesus be our guest, let this food to us be blessed. Amen.
Carole and Buddy Sokol
Jeff Culbreath
As former Lutherans and relatively new Anglicans, we occasionally use an old Lutheran table prayer that has been passed down through many generations:Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let these gifts to us be blessed. O give thanks unto the Lord for He is good, and His mercy endures forever. Amen.
I was involved in hispanic work a few years ago. Here is a hispanic Lutheran table prayer.
Spanish English
Cristo, pan de vida, Christ, bread of life,
Ven y bendice esta comida. Amen Come and bless this food. Amen
Contributed by James Harris
I thought I‘d add my family‘s grace -- said before meals in my (Anglican) family since before my 70something father was born. I thought it was pretty standard, but didn‘t see it in your listing.
For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful. AmenContributed by Pat Wong
I don‘t know the origin of this, but it‘s universal on the rather large Methodist side of my family.
Our Heavenly Father, kind and good,
we thank Thee for our daily food.
We thank Thee for Thy love and care.
Be with us Lord, and hear our prayer.
Amen.Contributed by David Hall
Lord Jesus be our holy guest,
our morning joy, our evening rest,
and with our daily bread impart,
your love and peace to every heart. Amen.
I have forgotten whence this has come, but everyone likes it when I use it.Contributed by Christopher Heath
I learned this when I was very young, and sometimes still say it today.
We thank Thee, Heavenly Provider,
for every earthly good:
for life and health and family,
and for our daily food. Amen.Contributed by A Watkins
Here is a prayer from my mom‘s grandfather, who became a sincere Christian as he converted from Judaism before he married my great-grandmother. My mother remembers they lived in a grand old brick row-house. Our family has newspaper clippings of him singing Gospel songs as he drove streetcars on the cobbled streets of old Philadelphia. He was a member of the First Brethren Church of Philadelphia (the denomination was Grace Brethren).
Pop Pop‘s Prayer
We thank thee Lord, For this our food,
For life and health and all things good.
May manna to our souls be given:
The bread of life sent down from heaven.
These favors we ask in Christ‘s name. Amen.Contributed by [name withheld by request]
This is the grace spoken over meals of my Apostolic-Pentecostal family.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for this food that we are about to receive for the nourishment of our bodies. Please cleanse it from impurities, in Jesus‘ name. Amen.Contributed by
My grandfather (a Methodist) said this prayer all his life and we did also as kids growing up:
Come Lord Jesus, be our guest,
May this food by thee be blest,
May our souls by thee be fed,
Ever on the living Bread.Contributed by
This is one of the variations my grandfather used. He was a long time member of the Old German Baptist Church.
Most Holy, Righteous and everywhere present God,
our Father who art in Heaven,
we ask thy blessing upon this food.
Bless the hearts and hands that provide the same.
And when it is ours to pass from time to eternity,
own us and crown us heirs to Thy kingdom.
These favors and blessings we ask in the name of Christ,
our Great Redeemer. Amen.Contributed by Steve Jones
I ... would like to share the blessing my grandmother (she‘s from Bermuda and Anglican) would say when she visited us during our childhood:
From thy hand cometh every good,
We thank thee for our daily food.
And with it Lord, thy blessing give,
And to thy glory may we live. Amen.Contributed by Lisa Widowski
Lord God, Heavenly Father, bless us and these Thy Gifts which we receive through Thy bountiful Goodness, through Jesus Christ our Lord.AmenContributed by Paul C. Gutz
We give Thee thanks and praise.
Look down upon us from above,
And bless us all our days. Amen. Morning: Noon: Evening:
For our restful sleep at night,
For the rain and sunshine bright,
For the love that Thou dost send,
For our homes and for each friend,
Heavenly Father, we thank Thee. Amen For the day and all its pleasures,
Grateful thanks we render now.
May our lives pass on the blessings,
None can give to us, but Thou. Amen. A parting hymn we sing,
Around Thy table, Lord.
Again our grateful tribute bring,
Our thanks to Thee accord. Amen.
Contributed by Larry Collister
There is a sort of table grace attributed to Oliver Cromwell:
Some have hunger, but no meat;
Some have meat, but no hunger;
I have both.
God be praised!Contributed by Mel Johnson
I "composed" this meal time prayer a few years ago...
Father, thank you for allowing us to share this meal together.
Send your Spirit to bless these gifts which you give us to sustain our
lives.
We thank you for them, and for ALL you blessings,
in the name of you Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.Contributed by Michael Sclafani
An old Boston brahmin prayer:
Some have food,
Some have none,
God bless the revolution!Contributed by Rob Flynn
This Grace is sung to the tune "Edelweiss" from "The Sound of Music":
Bless our friends,
Bless our food,
Come, O Lord and sit with us.
May our talk
Glow with peace;
Come with your love to surround us.
Friendship and love
May they bloom and glow,
Bloom and glow forever.
Bless our friends,
Bless our food,
Bless all mankind forever.
Contributed by Alan Lilley
Scott A Deuel
I‘m not sure how to communicate to you the tune to which this is sung, but it is the same for both prayers. They are taken from The Upper Room‘s Walk To Emmaus handbook.
Blessing before meals:
Bless our friends, bless our food.
Come, O Lord, and sit with us.
May our talk glow with peace,
Bring your love to surround us.
Friendship and peace, may it bloom
And grow, bloom and grow forever.
Bless our friends, bless our food,
Bless our dear land forever.
Thanks After Meals:
Hear our thanks, Father God.
Thanks, O Son, for being with us.
Thanks for words giving peace.
Urging love strong, sincere.Friendship and peace, may it bloom
And grow, bloom and grow forever.
Thanks for friends, thanks for food,
Thanks for freedom, dear Father.
My grandfather‘s (1890-1992):
Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for this food. Bless it to our strength and to thy glory.
Growing up:
Come Lord Jesus, be our guest, and bless what thou provided hast. (Sometimes I like the archaic syntax better!)
Recently from my mom:
Around this happy table may no evil ever come,
but health and peace and happiness make up our daily sum.Contributed by r
Lord we thank thee for guiding, blessing, and protecting us.
Bless this food to its intended use.
Amen.Contributed by Paul Goble
Here are a few prayers from a booklet called "Graces with a Celtic Flavor": I hope you can use these, we do, trying out different ones for different occasions, especially on the Celtic Saint‘s feast days (St. Patrick, St. Brigid, St. Columba, St. David, etc.):
The first set are well-known and in the public domain:
The Selkirk Grace by Robert Burns: Contemporary Traditional
Some have meat and cannot eat;
Some cannot eat that want it:
But we have meat and we can eat
Sae let the Lord be thankit! Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some would eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit.
A traditional Irish Grace:
May the blessing of the five loaves and the two fishes which God shared out among the five thousand be ours. May the King who did the sharing bless our sharing and our co-sharing.
Traditional Irish #2
Bless, O Lord, this food we are about to eat; and we pray You, O God, that it may be good for our body and soul; and if there be any poor creature hungry or thirsty walking along the road, send them into us that we can share the food with them, just as You share your gifts with all of us.
Anonymous Irish Grace:
May this food restore our strength, giving new energy to tired limbs, now thoughts to weary minds. May this drink restore our souls, giving new vision to dry spirits, new warmth to cold hearts. And once refreshed, may we give new pleasure to You, who gives us all.
From the Carmina Gadelica collected by Alexander Carmichael, late 1800‘s:
Give us O God of the nourishing meal,
well-being to the body, the frame of the soul.
Give us O God of the honey-sweet milk,
the sap and the savor of the fragrant farms.
The second set may have been written especially for the pamphlet by Ray Simpson, of the Order of Aidan and Hilda, in England, but they were not credited as such:
God in our waking, God in our speaking;
God in our cooking, God in our eating;
God in our playing, God in our digesting;
God in our working, God in our Resting
In a world where so many are hungry,
may we eat this food with humble hearts;
in a world where so many are lonely,
May we share this friendship with joyful hearts.
And finally,
May this food so fresh and fragrant,
call forth reverence for You in our souls.
As you give this strength to our perishable limbs,
So give us grace for our immortal lives.
Contributed by James Elliott
To the tune of "Are you sleeping, Brother John". Can also be found on Steven Curtis Chapman‘s album "Heaven in the real world" . The song‘s name is "You‘re stil listening."
God our Father God our Father
Once again Once again
We bow our heads and thank You
Bow our heads and thank You
A-ah-men A-ah-menContributed by [name withheld by request]
This is not a grace for before meals, but one for fastdays, and when you are going to miss a meal as part of a fast (especially if the cost of the meal is being set aside for hunger relief):
Lord,
May the hunger of our flesh help feed our brothers and our sisters
May the hunger of our souls draw us to your feast.
Amen
Contributed by Alice Fulton
If I waste not, I‘ve learned one thing. Let not one crumb fall off my plate. For you will bless the foods I distaste; and you‘ll teach me to be thankful as I partake.Contributed by Mel and Judy
Here is our family‘s mealtime prayer:
For the blessings you‘ve bestowed upon this home and on this family,
For all the days we‘ve had together and all the days to come,
For the joys and sorrows that bind us ever closer,
For the trials we‘ve overcome,
And for teaching us that we can do no great things,
Only small things with great love,
Lord, we thank you.Contributed by Gerald Donnelly
Here is a sectarian grace we have used in Boy Scouts for as long as I can remember, named for and perhaps originating from the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico:
Philmont Grace
For food, for raiment,
For life, for opportunity,
For friendship and fellowship . . .
We thank Thee, O Lord.Contributed by Bill Hansen
Lord, bless this food to our bodies, and, in turn, cause us to be a blessing to the Body of Christ.Contributed by Alan Willcox
This is a prayer we have used for quite some time. I think it says it all!
Our Father in Heaven,
For this meal you have given
We want to say thank you from our hearts.
Bless the ones who prepared it
And Lord as we share it
Will you stay with us
And be our guest of Honor.Contributed by Brent and Jan Hays
My great-grandfather John Adams Barnes, a devout Methodist, is reputed to have said the following grace. I did not see it reflected in the ones listed and it has meant quite a bit to our family as it has been passed down through the generations. It is as follows:
O Lord, we pray thy blessings, upon this food and upon our souls. Guide us through life and save us through Christ. Amen.Contributed by Priscilla Fenton Hament
Rub a dub dub; thanks for the grub; yeaaa God!Contributed by Andrew Wright
Bless, O Lord, this food to our use and us to thy service, and keep us ever mindful of the needs of others. In Jesus‘ Name. Amen.
We were already tempted, after an especially difficult day for my wife and five-year old daughter, to change it to "...ever mindful of the needs of mothers." Contributed by Steve Ketcham
All through my childhood, my family used a brief grace with hand motions, as follows: God bless us (hands on head)
God bless the food (hands aroud plate)
Amen (hands folded)
It has the advantage of being able to hold the attention of a hungry, antsy 3-year-old for its duration, without the irreverence of the "Yaaay God!" types of graces.
We also had a sung one (done holding hands), to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star:
Thank you for the food we eat,
Thank you for the world so sweet,
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you God for everything.
I‘ve always preferred participatory graces before meals to fold-your-hands-and-listen graces, although my high school youth group‘s tradition was pleasant. We always had dinner at our youth group meetings (brought by one or another member), and before we ate we would stand in a circle and the leaders would ask someone to give the blessing; what resulted was usually a short extemporaneous prayer to which we could all give a heartfelt "Amen". Contributed by Rachel Meredith Kadel
My five-year-old loves to belt out:
The Lord is good to me
and so I thank the Lord
for giving me the things I need
the sun and the rain and the apple seed.
The Lord is good to me.
Johnny Appleseed-Amen!Contributed by Dave Hazen
I just learned the second verse of the well-known children‘s prayer from my wife‘s niece:
God is great, God is good.
Let us thank him for our food.
By his hands, we are fed.
Let us thank him for our bread.
Amen.
Contributed by Tim Chambers
Thomas H. Harbold
... By his hands we all are fed,
Give us, Lord, our daily bread. Amen.
Kirk Delzell
... Now we thank him for our food.
Gonna thank him morning and night
We gonna thank our God
because he is out of sight.
Tim Chambers
Give a little clap, clap, clap.
Open shut them, open shut them,
Put them in your lap, lap, lap.God is Grace, God is Good.
Let us thank him for this food. Amen.
That‘s what we used to say in Pre-school. --Perfect12c@aol.com
(Sung to the tune of Are You Sleeping, Brother John?)
God our Father, God our Father,
We thank you, we thank you,
For our many blessings, for our many blessings,
A-ah-men, A-ah-men.
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