Weekly Prayer Thought

What God has cleansed you must not call common. Acts 10.15

One of the best times to develop your prayer life is at meal times. In Acts 10 Peter had a vision about all the foods that he could and could not eat. God's instruction to Peter was that if he had cleansed a food, it was eat-able. This should mean for all Christians that they should pray before eating. I know that this does not always seem practical or essential, but a great blessing will be lost if you do not get into this habit. And the sooner the better. So here are some thoughts, guidelines and suggestions for meal time prayers.

• In public, or with others who may not be comfortable with praying, just silently bow your head and pray. This should only take a few seconds. Many people will be surprised to see you pray. Some will be encouraged by it and pray themselves.
• In a group, make prayer a positive and fun thing. Use the "thumbs up" sign. Everyone at the table should put up one thumb. The last person to raise a thumb gets to pray.
• At home, take turns praying for meals.
• Use some familiar prayers, "Be present at our table, Lord," or "God is great." Pray in unison and enjoy the community that your family is.
• Be original with your meal-time prayers. Include thanks for the day, petitions for protections and guidance. Pray for sick family members or friends.
• At school, include some friends and classmates in your meal prayers. There is great power and fun in praying together.
• In a restaurant, include your server in your prayer ask her/ him if they would like you to pray for them. Or, you can invite them to join your prayer.

Make praying for your food a habit. Pray before you snack. Pray while you are shopping for food. Pray for the food of others around you who are not praying. (When you do this, be sure to pray for the eaters, as well as the food they are eating.)

You can never pray too much. Everyone at least has a memory of meal time prayer. Use that to your advantage and pray. Pray. Pray.

PRAYER: Sometimes, Lord, I forget to pray before meals. Help me to remember. And God, make my meal-time prayers not only an act of obedience to you and your word, but make it a wonderful time of communion with you. Amen.