I’m hungry. My wife and kids are hungry. Supper was a bit later than expected and everybody wants to dig into these tacos. But there is one thing our family has to do before we eat though. We have to pray.
And if I’m being honest my prayer is seldom very heartfelt. Most of the time it is just doing my duty before digging into the tacos. I’m not thinking too much about the Lord. I’m not actually praising Him and thanking Him for provision. And it’s not just me. There have been times when I’ve been struck with the Lord’s greatness and wanted to spend more time pre-tacos thanking Him. But I’m usually interrupted by a chorus of grumbling tummies and a few “come on, dad, my tacos are getting cold!”
I read this from John Bunyan and it convicted me deeply. Prayer, according to Bunyan, “is not, as many take it to be, a few babbling, prating, complimentary expressions, but a sensible feeling of the heart.” (Bunyan, 14). He goes on to say that when we are actually praying we have thoughts of mercy received, mercy to be received, or even our desperate need for mercy.
My prayer before eating is more like the babbling and complimentary expressions than the desperate heart cry. And as I read through Bunyan’s prayer I couldn’t help but think that my practice might invoke something similar to Paul’s admonition to the Corinthian church, “when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse”. Am I doing more harm to their view of prayer by just hurriedly going through some obligatory words? Would it be better for us to just stop praying before meals altogether?
I don’t believe we should stop thanking God before eating. But I do think that daddy needs to repent. It can still be brief , but I want to prepare my heart and model for my children that prayer is heartfelt, authentic, and with a healthy dose of desperate praise. It is as, Bunyan would later say, “an unbosoming of a man’s self, an opening of the heart to God, an affectionate pouring out of the soul in requests, sights, and groans” (17).
Am I alone in my struggle here? Do you have any tips for making sure that when you pray—especially public praying (like before meals) that you aren’t simply offering up babbling and complimentary expressions?
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We have brothers and sisters overseas who are not blessed with what we have. Just a few months ago my family was in Venezuela where we could afford food and made sure those with us had food. But we know that they are struggling. Our missionary there can only afford some butter on an arepa for lunch. Even when I’m digging into some leftovers for a snack, I give thanks to God heartsick because she would be grateful to have half of it as a meal. Then I remember that none of us deserve even the little bit she is blessed with. Gratitude for the great grace we have been given in even the smallest things should define every moment of our existence. Expressing that gratitude at meals is a simple practice for reminding us of the gratitude that we should always have.