For the Blessing of Food
Gracious Father,
Thank you for the gift of food by which you physically sustain us. You certainly could have chosen other ways to fuel our bodies, but something like food, so easily taken for granted, shows how you delight in giving us good things.
Thank you for simple things like a cup of coffee in the morning or shared with a friend, but also for the more complex things, like multi-course meals that allow us to experience such a wide range of pleasurable tastes. You have blessed many with the creativity and knowledge to combine ingredients and prepare amazing dishes that most of us would never even consider. Not only do you provide food in abundance, with so many options from which to choose, but it’s also as convenient and accessible as it has ever been. In appreciation for the gift of good, help us to have a healthy relationship with it, not wasting it, but also not giving into gluttony by overindulging or gorging ourselves with it.
We also realize that there are so many in this world who have a different experience with food, starving and struggling just for basic nutrition and sustenance. Remember them and provide for them, and make us mindful of how you might use our abundance to provide for their needs.
In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.