Mealtime Prayers
Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts.
- Acts 2:46 (NRSV)
If your family is anything like ours, eating meals together can sometimes take a back seat to busy schedules and busy lives. When we do have a chance to eat together though, we've found that saying a quick prayer over breakfast or dinner is a great way to take a deep breath and remind ourselves of our many blessings as we give thanks to God.
Simple Grace for Toddlers/Young Children
God is great, God is good;
let us thank God for our food! Amen.
(You can also leave silence for extra prayers)
Simple Blessings
Bless this food and bless our day -
fill our hearts with love, we pray. Amen!
Giving Thanks
Loving God, for another meal, we give you thanks.
For another day, we give you thanks.
For one another, we give you thanks.
For all our sisters and brothers, we give you thanks.
Bless this food and bless our world. Amen!
Bless These Hands
Wonderful and loving God,
we give you thanks for this time, this meal, and each other.
May you bless this food to our body's use,
and may you bless all of the hands that prepared it,
all the way from the ground to our tables. Amen.
Looking Ahead to the Day (Breakfast Prayer)
(Before praying, ask your kids "What's one thing you're excited about today?" and "What's one thing you could use some help on?" - and make sure to share your answers to those questions too!)
God, we know you're with us in the good times and the bad.
Today, we're really looking forward to ________ -
help us to enjoy every minute of that time!
But we also need help with other parts of our day: ________
give us strength, peace, patience, or whatever else we might need.
We pray this knowing you'll be right there with us today. Amen.
Looking Back at the Day (Dinner Prayer)
(Before praying, ask your kids "What's one thing that you were thankful for today?" and "What's one thing you wish could have been different?" - and make sure to share your answers to those questions too!)
God, we have so much to be thankful for:
We're thankful to be able to share this time together,
we're thankful for the food that's in front of us,
and we're thankful for _________.
We pray for all those who don't have enough food tonight,
or who can't be with their families right now,
and we ask that you help us with __________.
We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Lutheran Table Prayer
Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest,
and let these gifts to us be blessed;
in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
- Acts 2:46 (NRSV)
If your family is anything like ours, eating meals together can sometimes take a back seat to busy schedules and busy lives. When we do have a chance to eat together though, we've found that saying a quick prayer over breakfast or dinner is a great way to take a deep breath and remind ourselves of our many blessings as we give thanks to God.
Simple Grace for Toddlers/Young Children
God is great, God is good;
let us thank God for our food! Amen.
(You can also leave silence for extra prayers)
Simple Blessings
Bless this food and bless our day -
fill our hearts with love, we pray. Amen!
Giving Thanks
Loving God, for another meal, we give you thanks.
For another day, we give you thanks.
For one another, we give you thanks.
For all our sisters and brothers, we give you thanks.
Bless this food and bless our world. Amen!
Bless These Hands
Wonderful and loving God,
we give you thanks for this time, this meal, and each other.
May you bless this food to our body's use,
and may you bless all of the hands that prepared it,
all the way from the ground to our tables. Amen.
Looking Ahead to the Day (Breakfast Prayer)
(Before praying, ask your kids "What's one thing you're excited about today?" and "What's one thing you could use some help on?" - and make sure to share your answers to those questions too!)
God, we know you're with us in the good times and the bad.
Today, we're really looking forward to ________ -
help us to enjoy every minute of that time!
But we also need help with other parts of our day: ________
give us strength, peace, patience, or whatever else we might need.
We pray this knowing you'll be right there with us today. Amen.
Looking Back at the Day (Dinner Prayer)
(Before praying, ask your kids "What's one thing that you were thankful for today?" and "What's one thing you wish could have been different?" - and make sure to share your answers to those questions too!)
God, we have so much to be thankful for:
We're thankful to be able to share this time together,
we're thankful for the food that's in front of us,
and we're thankful for _________.
We pray for all those who don't have enough food tonight,
or who can't be with their families right now,
and we ask that you help us with __________.
We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Lutheran Table Prayer
Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest,
and let these gifts to us be blessed;
in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.