You will have all you want to eat, and you will give thanks to the Lord your God for the fertile land that he has given you… – Deuteronomy 8:10, GNT
As the Thanksgiving holiday fast approaches, we must pause for a second to realize how truly blessed we are. From food on our plates every single day to a roof over our heads, and good health – down to the things we take for granted, such as eyes to see, ears to hear, legs to walk, hands to write, etc. If you’re able to do all of those things on your own, then you’re truly blessed. Now there are people out there who aren’t as fortunate and we must remember that and be thankful to the Lord for what He has given us.
I mention these things to you because I think it would be appropriate to keep these things in our minds as we take time to give thanks before a meal. Saying grace over our food can be so much deeper than just being thankful for the food in front of us. Saying grace over our food can become such a simple routine prayer just to hurry up and stuff our mouths. Yes, God has blessed us lavishly with food to eat. Well I say why don’t we bless Him lavishly in thanksgiving over what we have received? Instead of just saying “Thank you for our food Lord”, we can also thank Him for giving us a mouth, tongue and teeth to be able to enjoy the He has provided. We can be thankful for the ability to sit down and enjoy good food among family members and friends. We can thank Him for the time we have to enjoy the company of loved ones while we share a great meal. And of course, thank Him for the person whose loving hands prepared the food!
You see, grace at the dinner table was not meant to be a stagnant prayer. It was meant to be a prayer that expresses gratitude for His love for us. It was meant to draw us closer to God by helping us to realize how much He has blessed us abundantly. Jesus loves it when we communicate with Him through prayer, so let’s not allow grace to be a “go through the motions” type of prayer and really make the most of it.