Many of us wish our families were Norman Rockwell-style portraits of domestic order and harmony: Mom and Dad at the table before a meal with the kids, the roast beef ready to be carved, the dog curled up at our feet, reverent silence as a heart-felt blessing is offered. The reality for many of us is that our family is not necessarily a perfect nuclear quartet, only a few of us may be around for any given meal, and we'd like to pray together but we just don't know how. Maybe we didn't begin this tradition when we were younger because we were too overwhelmed with the responsibilities of running a family, and the idea of beginning prayers from scratch seems too overwhelming.
The good news is that we don't have to begin with a full-blown ritual of family prayer. We can start in small ways, continue what feels authentic to our family context, and build as we grow. At mealtimes, for example, we might model for our children taking a moment at the end of a meal to say, "That was good. I am grateful for it." That might seem ridiculously basic, but prayer can be very simple. God doesn't judge prayers on length or complexity. God simply wants to be in relationship with us.
It has long been part of Christian tradition to pray before meals. This comes from the Jewish tradition. Jesus probably prayed a blessing that in English would be, "Blessed are you Lord, our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth." Christian prayers began from the source of Jewish practice and evolved into a myriad of prayer types and customs.
Many families refer to prayers before meals as table graces. It's a nice reminder; a way of acknowledging that everything we have comes from God's grace. Another day to be alive, fresh fruit, money to buy burgers and fries, our family itself: all of these are gifts from God. We can give thanks to God for farmers, for cooks (and the clean-up crew) for the smell of hot bread and love of those around us. Offering our thanks to God helps us remember to be thankful the next time we get ready to eat. It helps put our schedule and our worries into perspective. And, praying as a family helps set a tone of gratitude and spiritual connection as the basis for our life together.
Others call these prayers blessings, and that too is appropriate. We are blessed by God, and we seek to use our blessings to be a blessing to others. That idea is echoed in commonly echoed mealtime prayer that asks:
Bless this food for the nourishment of our bodies and our bodies to your service.
Some families have standard prayers that use for every meal. One prayer passed down to a family went this way:
Father in heaven, smile us with mercy
And give us thankful hearts
for these and all our many blessings.
Another popular family prayer is this:
For the gifts we are about to receive,
O Lord, make us truly thankful.
Another popular prayer is a sung prayer.
For health and strength and daily food we give you thanks, O Lord.
To listen to the tune, click here.
There is no need to confine yourself to one kind of prayer: be creative, involve your family and experiment. To help you get started, Upper Room ministries has collected prayers for meals, for bedtimes, and other family needs in the in Family Devotional kit. To learn more about the kit, click here.
You can read more about families and prayer some of these helpful resources:
A lovely reflection on mealtime prayers and the sacramentality of eating was posted on the web at:
http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1003
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