Meal Prayers
I don't know what else to call this kind of prayer. The one's that you say before you eat.
"Thanks for the great food and the hands that prepared it."
" Come be our guest at our table. "
"Bless this food to our bodies"
My thoughts are many on this topic inspired initially by my little girl refusing to pray with us at supper time.
When she first caught on she could pray with us at like a year and a half she would hold our fingers (because we hold hands as we pray) and smile big.
Then she began mimmicking us and folding her hands like grandpa and bowing her head.
Now she just plain refuses. And I'm afraid my child is a heathen. Initially we were making it an obedience issue, come on, darn it partake in the family prayer or no dessert. Now I'm aware I'm pushing an issue she's not quite developmentally ready for. She also refuses to say nighttime prayers with us. Not sure exactly what she doesn't like because she can't express her discomfort with words quite yet.
But it brings to mind prayer from a child's point of view. What is the point? Not in prayer in general but more the ritual ones. I wonder if it just doesn't make sense to her and she's uncomfortable doing something she doesn't understand. Because up to this point we've been much more focused on her learning the words for her environment and emotions than for her understanding God and Jesus. She has difficulty communicating with me, someone she interacts with, how then can I expect her to understand what it is to communicate with God. Not that I won't try to explain it in the future.
So then it brought up my own ritual prayers and why do I pray them and do I really believe what I'm saying? Does God find it important that I thank him for every meal? I truly am thankful but is it more sincere when I truly think of all the things he has given me and am thankful for and talk to him about these? Compared to a memorized prayer passed on to me by someone else that I recite in 30 seconds.
It's funny but I feel like I'm asking questions I should have asked when I was 8 years old.
At work in a southern manitoba predominantly christian community I have noticed how many of my co workers bow their heads before a meal. And I normally only pray at supper so I've felt some internal pressure to go with the flow and do like my colleagues. I mean they know I'm a christian, that my husband is a worship guy (they call him a pastor see next blog regarding this)
so why do I not partake in this overtly christian expression along with them. Simply because it feels like I'm doing it so they don't think poorly of me versus doing it because I truly am thankful. So I specifically don't do. Maybe I'm this subversive christian who makes her stands in such miniscule ways no one but me notices, but to me I just can't do it to fit in. If I don't sincerely mean it I can't say it. I just wonder what God thinks. Guess i could ask him....
"Thanks for the great food and the hands that prepared it."
" Come be our guest at our table. "
"Bless this food to our bodies"
My thoughts are many on this topic inspired initially by my little girl refusing to pray with us at supper time.
When she first caught on she could pray with us at like a year and a half she would hold our fingers (because we hold hands as we pray) and smile big.
Then she began mimmicking us and folding her hands like grandpa and bowing her head.
Now she just plain refuses. And I'm afraid my child is a heathen. Initially we were making it an obedience issue, come on, darn it partake in the family prayer or no dessert. Now I'm aware I'm pushing an issue she's not quite developmentally ready for. She also refuses to say nighttime prayers with us. Not sure exactly what she doesn't like because she can't express her discomfort with words quite yet.
But it brings to mind prayer from a child's point of view. What is the point? Not in prayer in general but more the ritual ones. I wonder if it just doesn't make sense to her and she's uncomfortable doing something she doesn't understand. Because up to this point we've been much more focused on her learning the words for her environment and emotions than for her understanding God and Jesus. She has difficulty communicating with me, someone she interacts with, how then can I expect her to understand what it is to communicate with God. Not that I won't try to explain it in the future.
So then it brought up my own ritual prayers and why do I pray them and do I really believe what I'm saying? Does God find it important that I thank him for every meal? I truly am thankful but is it more sincere when I truly think of all the things he has given me and am thankful for and talk to him about these? Compared to a memorized prayer passed on to me by someone else that I recite in 30 seconds.
It's funny but I feel like I'm asking questions I should have asked when I was 8 years old.
At work in a southern manitoba predominantly christian community I have noticed how many of my co workers bow their heads before a meal. And I normally only pray at supper so I've felt some internal pressure to go with the flow and do like my colleagues. I mean they know I'm a christian, that my husband is a worship guy (they call him a pastor see next blog regarding this)
so why do I not partake in this overtly christian expression along with them. Simply because it feels like I'm doing it so they don't think poorly of me versus doing it because I truly am thankful. So I specifically don't do. Maybe I'm this subversive christian who makes her stands in such miniscule ways no one but me notices, but to me I just can't do it to fit in. If I don't sincerely mean it I can't say it. I just wonder what God thinks. Guess i could ask him....
2 Comments:
Well, Simeon is quite into praying before meals and often reminds me if I forget! I, too, pray mostly at suppertime or when we're all eating together. If it's just Sim and I, I don't always think of it. And then he'll reach for my hand and say, "Praise the Lord?" What a guilt trip an almost 2 year old can put you under! :) On a different note, I took him to the nursery on Sunday and he started crying so hard and saying, "Praise the Lord, downstairs Momma?" I know he is clingy lately and didn't want me to leave him up there alone, but it was still precious!
I think Rhonda got it right when she said its about the heart of WHY you are praying. If we are motivated by a desire to fit in or guilt etc...in order to pray then is this the posture of prayer?
I'm not saying that a poorly motivated prayer doesn't "count". Sometimes we pray because the Bible says we should, and we know we need to, even if we don't FEEL like it.
That said, my desire has always been that prayer be a JOY for my children. I never wanted to push them into anything they didn't want to do, I don't want them to associate prayer with guilt or fear..eg. If you don't pray before you eat God will poison your food or you'll go to hell or whatever the fear tactic.
At first my kids loved to pray at the table because it was a moment when everyone was listening to them, not necessarily a positive motivation from a spiritual perspective, but positive from an emotional stand point.
As they got older, they started to listen to the words they were saying. Rebecca was the first to ask questions "Why are we thanking" or "who is Father?".
I think Emma is pretty young to understand some of the words, but she'll get the heart of it, even if she isn't able to communicate it to you.
You will be an example of the proper posture of prayer and she'll see your heart and learn from that. They always watch our actions more carefully than our words anyway.
Man! I'm blabbing on! Here is my main point...you want her to get the "heart" of prayer not the practise of it. So if she doesn't want to pray at dinner...big freakin' deal! The rituals of religion say nothing about whether or not the person is getting the heart of God or hearing Jesus, and learning love!!!
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