Why are we saying grace before meals?
I still remember a question being asked by a pastor during a junior fellowship session at church more than about 10 years ago: why do Christians "need" to say grace for their meals? The Bible didn't say explicitly about saying grace before meals.
At that time my only answer was that we should thank for our food that God has provided us. I couldn't really remember exactly the response of my pastor. He didn't directly comment on my reply; and I guess he wanted us to think. I was not totally satisfied with my own answer then neither, because I found my reply was too "standardized".
Years after years, somehow the question of "saying grace before meals" occasionally floated into my brain and irritated me a bit; however, each time there were no satisfactory answers. In fact, for a period of time I tried not to say grace before meals and wanted to see if there would be any difference. (I am not encouraging anyone not to say grace before meals here, as it won't give any satisfactory reply neither, as I have tried.)
Recently, I have a chance to attend a spiritual course instructed by the wife (Susan) of this pastor. The question appears into my mind again in a more vivid form (may be by seeing them remind me the question). After all these years, I gradually experience a more self-satisfying reply to this "saying grace before meals" question.
Usually under normal circumstances, people have their meals base on a regular time interval. "Saying grace before meals" gives us regular verification of our relationship with God. For example, I eat every 5 hours, so I at least checkup my relationship with God every 5 hours. Being a Christian, I found that there's flow between God and I, and this flow is very precious because it affects our entire being. This flow required to be check for blockage often, and we must remove any obstacles as early as possible; otherwise, it'll be very dangerous to left any obstacles building up, and eventually all its functionalities collapse. When there's any blockage in between, one will automatically/naturally be feeling in prayers.
Therefore, my most recent answer to the question of "saying grace before meals" is for the purpose of periodically verifying/checking our relationship health index with God, besides thank God for our food and physical health that we can enjoy the delicious food.
At that time my only answer was that we should thank for our food that God has provided us. I couldn't really remember exactly the response of my pastor. He didn't directly comment on my reply; and I guess he wanted us to think. I was not totally satisfied with my own answer then neither, because I found my reply was too "standardized".
Years after years, somehow the question of "saying grace before meals" occasionally floated into my brain and irritated me a bit; however, each time there were no satisfactory answers. In fact, for a period of time I tried not to say grace before meals and wanted to see if there would be any difference. (I am not encouraging anyone not to say grace before meals here, as it won't give any satisfactory reply neither, as I have tried.)
Recently, I have a chance to attend a spiritual course instructed by the wife (Susan) of this pastor. The question appears into my mind again in a more vivid form (may be by seeing them remind me the question). After all these years, I gradually experience a more self-satisfying reply to this "saying grace before meals" question.
Usually under normal circumstances, people have their meals base on a regular time interval. "Saying grace before meals" gives us regular verification of our relationship with God. For example, I eat every 5 hours, so I at least checkup my relationship with God every 5 hours. Being a Christian, I found that there's flow between God and I, and this flow is very precious because it affects our entire being. This flow required to be check for blockage often, and we must remove any obstacles as early as possible; otherwise, it'll be very dangerous to left any obstacles building up, and eventually all its functionalities collapse. When there's any blockage in between, one will automatically/naturally be feeling in prayers.
Therefore, my most recent answer to the question of "saying grace before meals" is for the purpose of periodically verifying/checking our relationship health index with God, besides thank God for our food and physical health that we can enjoy the delicious food.
posted by Clara Yeung at
3:51 PM
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