The eyes of all look to you,

  and you give them their food in due season.

You open your hand;

  you satisfy the desire of every living thing.

Psalm 145:15-16

And you shall eat and be full, 

and you shall bless the Lord your God 

for the good land he has given you.

Deuteronomy 8:10

One great way to pray is to thank God. Throughout this month of Thanksgiving I want to talk to our church about gratitude.

An attitude of gratitude towards

God will shape you and rewire

you from complaining

to thanking.

Throughout the Bible people give thanks before they eat meals. This practice is a powerful one to include in your life. This will have you thanking God throughout the day.

As you do this over the years your heart will slowly shift to gratitude. You will be able to recognize that God is your provider, not you. This will relieve stress, give you a better perspective on life, release worry and center you in God.

Giving thanks to God is one of the most important disciplines in the Christian life. 

Jesus taught us to pray “Give us this day our daily bread.” Jesus himself often thanked his Father before almost all of the recorded meals in the Gospels. 

Praying before, during or after meals is proper because God has provided sustenance. Food is also a picture of life.

We are thanking God for life and ongoing provision of food but also our other needs.

I don’t think you need to be legalistic about it and if you forget to pray for some meals it is really not a big deal. There is no command from God to pray before meals, but it is modeled for us over and over. 

So what if you incorporated this in your life? You would be praying several times a day. Even if you just throw up a quick “Thank you Lord for this food” you are drawing near to God all day.

Finally, the person who walks in gratitude enjoys life more. 

Thanksgiving forces you to pay attention to blessings instead of what you don’t have.

Homework:

Even if you do it silently, challenge yourself to give thanks to God for your daily bread at each meal this week.

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31 

Grace and peace,

Pastor Harvey