Here is our collection of popular dinner prayers and blessings. There is no better time to speak to God then when you’re gathered around the dinner table with the ones you love.
This first prayer is a very popular before meal blessing. It holds a special place in my heart as I remember fondly my grandfather saying it before dinner when I was a young boy.
My grandpa was a hungry man, and when your hungry, a short blessing is a must!
Come Lord Jesus
Come Lord Jesus,
our guest to be,
and bless these gifts
bestowed by Thee.
Amen.
And here is another variation of this blessing:
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. Amen.
Read some traditional Mealtime Prayers.
Read some Wedding Dinner Prayers.
God is Great, God is Good
God is Great, God is Good;
Let us thank Him for our food.
By His hands we all are fed,
Give us Lord our Daily Bread.
Amen.
Table of contents
More Simple Mealtime Prayers
Bless Us As We Eat
Thank you, Lord.
These are simple words but they come
from simple hearts that overflow with the
realization of your goodness.
We ask you to bless us as we eat,
bless this food and bless the hands that prepared it.
May the words of our lips spring forth from
hearts of gratitude and may we bless
others as we fellowship today.
Amen.
A Rhyming Meal Prayer
Thank you for the food we eat,
Thank you for the friends we meet.
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you, God, for everything.
Amen.
Giving Thanks
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.
Amen.
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When I was a child we did not pray at meal times but as I have grown in my relationship with the Lord I have learned the importance of the mealtime blessing. Traditionally, some families use the same prayer at every meal, yet others lift up an original thank you to the Lord for meals.
Come Lord Jesus, be our guest and bless what you bequeathed us.
Praying before meal times is something that we find in the Bible. Take a look at these popular passages:
“And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat.” (Paul speaking in Acts 27:35)
And he said unto them, “With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: 16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. 17 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: 18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. 19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” (Jesus speaking to the Apostles at the last supper Luke 22:15-20)
Here are 7 Christian dinner prayers that you might consider when you would like to thank the Lord for His provision.
Children’s Prayers
I used to say this one with my children at breakfast and lunch time.
A Rhyming Meal Prayer
Thank you for the world so sweet,
Thank you for the food we eat, Thank you for the birds that sing, Thank you God for everything. Amen.
As a child whenever we had a Girl Scout outing we would sing this as a dinner time blessing. It was not until years later that I learned it was a song from a Disney movie. I also sang this one with my children.
Johnny Appleseed Song
♪♫ The Lord is good to me
And so I thank the Lord
For givin me the things I need
The sun and rain and the apple seed
Yes, He’s been good to me.♫♪
(View a video of this song in the upper right of this page)
Prayer Before Meals (Catholic)
Bless us Oh Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
Dinner Time Prayer (German)
Komm Herr Jesus.
Sei unser Gast
Und segne was Du uns bescherret hast.
(English translation)
Come Lord Jesus,
Be our guest
And bless what you bequeathed us.
The Selkirk Grace
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!
Irish Grace
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.
Meal Prayer
Lord God and Giver of All Good Gifts, we are grateful as we pause before this meal, for all the blessings of life that You give to us. Daily, we are fed with good things, nourished by friendship and care, feasted with forgiveness and understanding. And so, mindful of Your continuous care, we pause to be grateful for the blessings of this table.
– Pause for silent reflection –
May Your presence be the “extra” taste to this meal which we eat in the name of Your Son, Jesus.
Amen.
What is your favorite mealtime prayer?
Share your favorites in the comments below.
Looking for more prayers?
Take a look at these from our archives
-
10 Popular Bedtime Prayers
-
Prayers from the Bible
-
10 Short Prayers for Protection
Sources:
The Holy Bible, King James Version
The Selkirk Grace: Burns, Robert 1759-1796
Meal Prayer: Hays, Edward, Prayers for the Domestic Church: A Handbook for Worship in the Home (Kansas: Forest of Peace Books, 1979), 110.
YouTube video: Johnny Appleseed Song
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QUESTION: Can you give me tips for a Thanksgiving dinner prayer?
ANSWER:
Do you desire to lead your family in a Thanksgiving dinner prayer? Consider these questions as a way of preparing for your prayer:
What were the major events that took place in your family this year?
Did your family grow in number, through weddings or births?
Did your family experience hard times? If so, consider what you learned from each situation.
Who are the members of your family? Name one quality that you’re thankful for in each person.
A good idea for a Thanksgiving dinner prayer is go to the old hymns. Many express deep sentiments. Let them become your prayer. One beautiful old Thanksgiving hymn is titled ‘Thanks to God.’ ‘Thanks to God for my Redeemer. Thanks for all Thou doest provide.’ (If you don’t have a hymnal that contains that song, the words can be found online by doing a simple search). The message of the song is taken from 1 Thessalonians 5:18. “Give thanks in all circumstances.”
Life does not give us only good circumstances, but we must also deal with hurt, and pain, and negative experiences. It becomes hard to be thankful when things go wrong. But it is still a command. Give thanks in all circumstances, not for, but in. That’s how we become strong.
After having read the verses of a song as a prelude to the Thanksgiving dinner prayer, perhaps it would be good to have each person share one good thing that happened for which they are thankful. Then share one bad thing. Share how God has helped you to overcome that difficulty. How have you grown by it? How has it strengthened your faith?
That is real thanksgiving. Then you can truly say, “Thanks for peace within my soul.”
Dear Heavenly Father,
“Thank You for this special day, a day to remember Your goodness to us.
I want to thank You for a roof over our heads, and more than enough food to eat.
I want to thank You for the relationships You have given to us — for family and friends.
Also, I want to thank You for all the bad experiences we’ve had. We have learned that you were there for us all the time. For this, we thank You and praise You. In Jesus name, amen.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
– We have all
sinned
and deserve God’s judgment.
God
, the Father, sent His only Son to satisfy that judgment for those who believe in Him.
Jesus
, the creator and eternal Son of God, who lived a sinless life, loves us so much that He
died
for our sins, taking the punishment that we deserve, was
buried
, and
rose from the dead
according to the
Bible
. If you truly believe and trust this in your heart, receiving Jesus alone as your
Savior
, declaring, “
Jesus is Lord
,” you will be saved from
judgment
and spend eternity with God in heaven.
What is your response?
Yes, today I am deciding to follow JesusYes, I am already a follower of JesusI still have questions
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