For a few years now, I’ve wondered what sort of blessing Jesus said before eating. This weekend I was listening to some recordings of lessons by Ray Vander Laan, and he talked about that very thing. According to RVL, the Jewish custom is/was not to “bless the food,” but to bless God for having given us the food.

My custom lately has been not to ask for anything when praying at the dinner table. I give thanks. I give thanks for many different things, not just for the food.

The example we have of Jesus was that he gave thanks before eating. The Bible also talks about receiving food with thankfulness. So that’s what I try to do.

Can you think of other examples or teachings from the Bible that would come into play on this subject?

A few years ago, I made a decision about praying before eating. I decided that there was a reason why a prayer was said before a meal. It was to pray about the meal. Not about the weather. Not about Aunt Petunia’s gall bladder. It was to pray about the meal.

Now I guess there’s nothing wrong with praying about just about anything at just about any time. Still, it seems like asking a blessing for food should be about asking a blessing for food. Giving thanks for food should be about giving thanks for food.

Am I being too picky? Maybe I should be happy that we are praying at all.