I can recall when I had food poisoning; it was no joke, shooting pain from one side of my abdomen to the other. I rolled around in agony, waiting for the pain to pass. Finally, after a few days, I felt better. Then, I had a random thought. Did I pray over my food that day? No, I did not! I believe this question came from the Lord because I learned a valuable lesson following that experience. God will sometimes use unusual things to teach us great things.
The truth was, I had become accustomed to just eating. I don’t know, maybe you’re different. But, I am always busy doing something and had not noticed that I was neglecting to pray over my food before I ate. Subconsciously, I had classified blessing my food as a small thing, but this was a practice of Jesus. And while it may be minor, God taught me that small does not mean insignificant.
Saying Grace, Giving Thanks
I have learned and still am learning what God meant about a false balance and a just weight (Proverbs 11:1). God looks for His people to live in the fullness of His Word, not a filtered or edited version. That does not mean operating by the law, so to speak, but applying everything Jesus taught and practiced. This includes blessing our food. From feeding the five thousand to the Last Supper, our Lord always thanked The Father for His meals and sanctified them through prayer. And it was our same Jesus that worked mighty miracles to the Glory of God.
What if I had prayed before eating? God could have removed what caused my illness, or it could have still happened. Nonetheless, God taught me to do everything in the fullness of Christ and leave the rest to His will.
Understand, some things we will obtain by grace, and some things must be obtained through prayer. The Bible speaks about asking the Lord for things (Mathew 7:8, 1 John 5:14). He has given his people authority and power in their mouths. If death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21), blessing our food may mean more than what we thought.
What Does it Mean to Bless Your Food?
The Bible says in 1 Timothy 4:4-5 ESV, “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.”
According to Google, “bless” means to “ask God to look favorably upon.” When we receive our food, (1) we must thank God for it, and (2) petition the Lord to bless it through prayer. Think about all the things we eat today and the things that can be in our food. I don’t know about you, but I know that there are some things in food the Lord has protected me from because I blessed my food.
Saying grace today could very well impact our health in major ways. Considering all the changes in the way food is processed, we all should double-check whether we are saying grace and making a good habit of blessing our food.
So, What’s the Play Call?
Mark 16:17-18 says, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
Jesus said that it was possible for us to consume something deadly and it does not harm us; it was a sign that follows believers. As a believer, we follow what Jesus said and what He did. The Lord teaches in many ways, we have to be sensitive to the lesson.
If you do not bless your food, I encourage you to begin doing so. Since my food poisoning incident, I pray before I eat. Consider making this and any other “small” change that the Lord reveals to you. Chances are it’s a “small” adjustment (in your eyes) that can bring about life-altering impact.
