And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. Matthew 14:19 (New International Version, NIV)

As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it, for this is my body.” Mark 14:22 (New Living Translation, NLT)

Jesus blessed, or gave thanks, for His food before eating it. We are to be imitators of Him. So, that means we are to give thanks for our food before eating. But, is there a deeper significance to it other than just doing what Jesus did? Of course there is. Praying over our food to give thanks is as much of an issue of the heart as it is an issue of making sure our food is sanctified and blessed for our use.

First of all, we pray over our food in order to remind ourselves that God is our Provider and without His provision, there would be no food for us to eat. We are to be grateful for what He has given us and remain thankful for His continued supply. Every meal is a supernatural occasion. If we take into consideration what had to happen for the food to arrive on our table, it is miraculous indeed. The seed that was planted had to supernaturally sprout and grow into a crop. The mystery of how a seed can produce a plant that produces food is one of God’s secrets that should amaze us. And the people who had to tend the crops and harvest it, not to mention those who bring it to market, are all part of God’s process of blessing us with something to put in our bellies. And we must never forget the meat that comes from animals that God created and who sacrificed their lives to give us strength and energy to fulfill God’s plan. There is much to be grateful for at every meal.

Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, Exodus 23:25 (New International Version, NIV)

The blessing of the food also is an act of faith to reinforce the fact that no matter what we eat, no harm will come to us from food that might be contaminated. We stand in faith when we pray over our food that the blessing of the Lord is upon it and no deadly thing will harm us. Most of us are aware of the pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers used on crops, not to mention the radiation and genetic altering of food that takes place. As we pray and decree God’s blessing over our food, we can be at peace about eating, knowing that the blessing of the Lord is in effect and we will suffer no harmful effects. We are enforcing God’s victory over sickness and the plans of the enemy when we pray over what we take into our bodies.

I want to stress that every prayer we pray over our food should be meaningful and from the heart. There are many prayers out there that people have used for their meals over the years, and when recited over and over, they become empty words and void of power. When I was a child, we prayed a mealtime prayer like that. “Come Lord Jesus, be our Guest, Let this food to us be blessed. Amen” Like any prayer we pray, we must be conscious of what we are praying and we must have faith in it for it to be of any consequence.

Praying over food is something Jesus did, and it should be a meaningful part of our meals. As we do, we’ll maintain a heart of thanksgiving and we will reinforce God’s promises for our good health.

For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. I Timothy 4:4-5 (New International Version, NIV)