Beware of the religious prayer…

Can someone please send me the verse that says we are supposed to pray before every meal? Oh wait, there isn’t one!

Contrary to common belief, there is no verse in the Bible that tells us to pray before every meal. Even still many people believe it is commanded to us. We most commonly think of the verses in Matthew 14:18-19 and Mark 6:41. These verses refer to when Jesus prayed before they ate when He turned the five loaves and two fish into enough food to feed the crowd. There is also Matthew 26:26 where Jesus gave thanks before breaking bread when he was showing the disciples how to take communion. But again, there is no commandment to pray before regular meals.

So if there isn’t a verse in the Bible that tells us to pray before eating, why do we do it?

Because we are thankful for our food – A great reason to pray before we eat! We should be thankful for the way God blesses us and remember Him before every meal. But It would be just as pleasing to God if we thanked Him for our meal after we eat right? There is no reason why we should feel guilty if we don’t pray before a meal.

Tradition – Our parents did it or now do it and we do it out of tradition. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but we have to be careful. We know that rehearsed prayers that we repeat every night before dinner are not what God wants to hear from His children.

Christian culture – Oh our culture of American Christianity. We have many issues that we face and we often get guilted into praying before meals because we are afraid of being judged or thought less of by other Christians.

To be seen by others – I’ve known plenty of Christians who actually believe that praying for their food in public is a way to show their faith. Jesus talks specifically about praying to be seen by others in Matthew 6:5. Its the wrong motive for prayer. Prayer is between you and God and shouldn’t be used to show your faith to others.

Because we believe we should – If you feel like you should be praying before every meal then go for it! There certainly isn’t anything wrong with it. But it is still important to be aware of why you are doing what you are doing and remember that you are not less pleasing to God if you don’t pray before a meal. Praying before each meal is no different than praying after each meal, or praying in between every meal.

My purpose in writing this is not to say that praying before meals is wrong. I just hope people don’t do it to be seen by others or out of a routine. We don’t want to be praying meaningless prayers out of obligation. No one wants to hear that prayer anyway. A prayer of obligation sounds like worthless words to everyone around you, yourself and to God. Don’t be praying that exact same prayer every night before dinner. If we are going to pray, then lets actually pray with our own real words. God is listening.