Sample prayer before meals

Sample Prayers – Index Page

Sample Prayers

A sample Opening Prayer

A sample Closing Prayer

Saying Grace – Table prayer

A Prayer Before Meals

Sample prayers

Sample Birthday Prayer

Praying for Children

A Father’s Prayer for His Children

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Praying For Your Husband

Wedding Prayer by Max Lucado

Another Wedding Prayer

A Prayer for Commitment to Marriage

Salvation Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer

A Prayer when you are Fearful

A Prayer about Commitment

A Prayer for Neighbours

A Prayer about Being in God’s Will

A Prayer of Confession

A Prayer for When you Need Wisdom

A Prayer for Success

A Prayer for When You are Weak or Ill

Graduation Prayer

Check Out: TWO KEYS TO A HAPPY MARRIAGE

A Prayer for Protection

A Power prayer about the reality of God’s forgiveness

YOU WILL ENJOY:  KEEPING ROMANCE ALIVE IN YOUR MARRIAGE?

A prayer about getting Strength during troubling times

Prayer – Asking Specifically

The Knots Prayer – Dear God, please untie the knots…

Heartfelt Prayers

Prayer for me as a parent and for my family

A Prayer for Inner Peace and Joy

NEED POWER TO BE A GOOD PARENT?  READ ‘GETTING THE POWER’.

A Soldier’s Prayer

Should I pray every day?

You asked for what?

Praying for your Neighbours – while taking a walk

Daily Prayers – prayer for protection, prayer for friends, prayer for the home; and more.

Another Daily Prayer

Conversational prayer(short version) or   Long Version

Lord, because of you.…

Sample Easter Prayers

A Morning Prayer

A 2nd Morning Prayer

Another Morning Prayer

Prayer for Power

The Praying Hands of a Grandmother

A Prayer for our Children and Grandchildren

A Great Article on: How to Know God Listens to your Prayers

Heavenly Father, help us remember…

A Prayer for When You Need more Faith

Praying Prayers of Mercy

How did Jesus Pray?

Praying with Confidence

Intercessory Prayer

A Prayer by Saint Ambrose

A Prayer for Young Women of the World

A Prayer for Others

A Prayer for Friends

A Prayer about Nature and God’s Creation

A Prayer for Prodigals

A Prayer for When You Want to be Reflecting Christ

Make me an Instrument Prayer

A Prayer for when you Feel Like you have Failed

A Prayer for a Dream

A Prayer for Conflict Resolution

A Prayer about Bearing Burdens

A Prayer for the Home

Prayer for a Pastor

Prayer for a Pastor’s Wife

Put on the Whole Armour of God Prayer

A Prayer for Protection

What should be included in prayer

Pray and then Decide

A Call to Prayer– seniors, bedridden individuals and others

Seasonal Prayers

Sample Christmas Prayers

Sample Mother’s Day Prayers

Sample Easter Prayers

A New Year Prayer by Gail Rodgers

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Mealtime prayers are essential conversations with God. Paul tells us to: “Celebrate always, pray constantly, and give thanks to God no matter what circumstances you find yourself in.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Poverty and starvation are an everyday reality for some, while others of us quench their thirst and put hunger at bay at our leisure. No matter which side of the pendulum we find ourselves on, praying God’s will over our lives and our meals is important. “… for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18b NLT)

Praying God’s blessing over our meals is a simple way to make a big difference on the daily alignment of our hearts. Use dinner time and all other times of eating to recall God’s goodness in your life. It helps us remember that our blessings come from our Creator… who deserves credit for all.

Here are 10 prayers that will fit any mealtime situation, from formal family dinners, to meals on the go at the neighborhood drive-thru:

1. A Prayer That This Food May Fuel Us to Do Your Work

Father, Praise You for the nourishment the You provide. Thank You for meeting our physical needs of hunger and thirst. Forgive us for taking that simple joy for granted, and bless this food to fuel our bodies forward into Your will for our lives. We pray that we will be energized and be able to work for the glory of Your Kingdom. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

2. A Prayer in Remembrance of the Hungry

Father, You are mighty and strong to sustain our bodies. Thank You for the meal we are about to enjoy. Forgive us for forgetting how many pray for food to relieve their starvation. Bless and relieve the starvation of those who hunger, Lord, and inspire our hearts to seek out ways that we can help from our abundance. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

3. A Prayer of Confession

Father, This meal is the work of Your hands. You have provided for me, again, and I am grateful. I confess my tendency to forget to ask Your blessing upon my life, through the comforts that You have given me to enjoy. So many people lack these daily comforts and it is selfish of me to forget about them in their need. Show me how to make the most of Your blessing in my life, for everything I have is a gift from You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

4. A Prayer for Family Mealtime

Father, We have gathered to share a meal in Your honor. Thank You for putting us together as family, and thank You for this food. Bless it to our bodies, Lord. We thank you for all of the gifts you’ve given to those around this table. Help each member of our family use these gifts to your glory. Guide our mealtime conversations and steer our hearts to Your purpose for our lives. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

5. A Prayer for Mealtime Fellowship

Father, Praise You for friendship and family! Thank You for bringing us together today to share a meal. The people in our lives bring us such joy, and we are grateful for time spent in fellowship together. Help us use this time to bond closer as a group, and learn to love each other more. Bless our appetites, both physical and spiritual, to honor You in all we do. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

6. A Prayer for When Someone is Missed at the Table

Father, We are coping with an empty seat at our table. Be with the one we are without, today, and help us to trust in Your timing, purpose, and great love for us all. As we miss ____________ today, we pray Your blessing over him/her/them, and us, and the space in between now and when we see them next. Until then, may this food bless our bodies, and give us strength to endure the day ahead. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

7. A Prayer for Dining Out

Father, Bless this establishment and employees as they prepare and serve our food. Thank You for the opportunity to have our meal brought to us, and the ability to relax and enjoy this time with one another. We understand our privilege to be here, and we pray to be a blessing to those we encounter in this place. Bless our conversation, and may we honor You in all we do. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

8. A Prayer in Remembrance of the Last Supper

Father, As we sit here today preparing to eat this food, we remember Your Son. How He came here as a human being, and ate with His family and friends just like we do. Thank You for the gift of Jesus, and that we can look to Him knowing He understands our hunger. Bless us, Lord Jesus, and stir our hearts to remember You in all we do. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

9. A Prayer for When Food is Scarce

Father, We come to You hungry, today. It’s hard to understand why we don’t have enough to eat, but we come to You for strength, knowing that You are our provider. Help us to trust that You will sustain us through times of abundance and times of scarcity. Bless us and help us get back up on our feet again. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

10. A Prayer for the Drive-Thru

Father, Thank You for the drive-thru, that saves our time on busy days. We pray for those who prepared our food, and we ask that we would be a blessing to them during our brief encounter today. We remember that they are your children, and that they should be treated with kindness and respect, so that they will be able to see You in our actions. Bless this food to our bodies and keep us safe on the road today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Photo credit: Thinkstock

This article is part of our larger Prayers resource meant to inspire and encourage your prayer life when you face uncertain times. Visit our most popular prayers if you are wondering how to pray or what to pray. Remember, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us and God knows your heart even if you can’t find the words to pray.

Prayer for Healing

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In order to better understand this article we suggest you familiarise yourself with the following articles:

• Definition of prayer
• Benefits of prayer
• What are Sattva, Raja and Tama

1. Introduction

Food is a basic necessity of life, and provides nourishment and energy for us to sustain in daily life.  We are well aware of the nutritive properties of food as they are extensively researched. The psychological satisfaction of eating something we like is also known to us through personal experience.  However there have been comparatively few studies about the effects of a common practice – that of making a prayer before meals.

In our fast paced lifestyle, for some of us, a prayer may seem like a redundant step in our meal routine for which we have little time or patience. For others, it may be an altogether unknown experience.

To understand the effects of prayer before meals from a spiritual perspective, we conducted spiritual research using advanced sixth sense and compared what happens when we make a prayer before meals to what happens when food is eaten without praying beforehand.

2. Spiritual research on prayer before meals

The following drawing based on subtle-knowledge has been drawn by Mrs. Yoya Vallee, a seeker of SSRF using advanced sixth sense.

Yoya has an ability to see into the subtle and creates drawings based on subtle-knowledge as part of her spiritual practice and service unto the Absolute Truth (satsēvā).  The drawings based on subtle-knowledge are then verified by His Holiness Dr. Athavale for accuracy.

This drawing based on subtle-knowledge shows the effect of eating without praying.

From the drawing based on subtle-knowledge we can understand the following:

• Divine consciousness (Chaitanya) is attracted towards the food. After consuming it, a sheath of Divine consciousness is created around the person eating it too.
• Due to a lack of prayer and communion with God before the meal, a sheath of distressing energy is created around the person. Distressing energy subsequently covers the food too and is transferred into the body while eating.
• As a result our inner organs and mind become clouded with distressing energy and a ring of distressing energy is created at the heart chakra (Anāhat-chakra) due to the ego present in eating food without prayer. This is due to the mind remaining active in the absence of prayer, which gives rise to various thoughts and extrovertedness.

Therefore when one consumes food without praying, distressing energy enters the person’s subtle-body, which can increase distress.

Along with this, if one also talks loudly while eating this increases the person’s extroverted nature which attracts even more Raja-Tama vibrations. Our energy then becomes depleted and we carry these negative vibrations around with us throughout the day.

3. Subtle-picture on the effect of prayer before meals

Now let us look at another drawing based on subtle-knowledge drawn by Mrs. Yoya Vallee of what happens when one prays before eating.

From this drawing based on subtle-knowledge we can see the following.

• Due to praying, spiritual emotion (bhāv) is awakened in the person and a communion with God is established. This attracts Divine consciousness towards both the food and the person eating it.
• Divine Energy (Shakti) is activated in the food and this reaches the person’s subtle-body and creates a protective sheath around it.
• Finally, after consuming the food, the Vital energy (Prāṇa-shakti) in our body increases.

Therefore from a spiritual perspective, prayer before meals is beneficial.  The types of prayers one can make before eating are:

• “God, let this food be consumed by me with the spiritual emotion that it is Your Holy sacrament (Prasād). Let me gain Divine Energy and Divine consciousness through it.”
• “God, if there is any black energy in the food, please destroy it and infuse Divine consciousness into the food particles.”
• “God, please form a protective sheath of Your Name around me while eating.”

4. In summary – prayer before meals

Making a prayer before meals is a simple act through which we can establish communion with God, gain Divine consciousness and protection and obtain the Vital energy required for our body’s functions. It also brings continuity into our spiritual practice, which occurs even during our daily routine acts such as having meals.

There is added spiritual benefit if we complement eating with chanting the Name of God.

www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org