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AMEN to that!

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Jennifer Dent
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Randy:

That's Frère Jacques ('Brother James' or 'Friar James').

I like what some have said about praying with the intent of the heart (the rabbis call it kavannah). God is always more interested in the heart than in the practice or the words.

Flamingo Lady:

Sad story. Unfortunately perfect example of having our priorities the opposite of God's.

By the way... how did you know what size tips the church people left?

We knew what size the tips were because our waiter and a few others were also friends of ours.

Their table was next to ours, they left before we did...

Didn't take much to see and then had it later confirmed by the waiter.

If you can't afford to tip, you can't afford to eat in a restaurant where tips are used as part of the wait staff's salary.

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formerly known as doinkdom

We always pray before meals as a gesture of gratitude to the Lord for providing. I can understand why others wouldn't though because it can come across as sort of mechanical at times.

Thanks OB1 BTW is there a language you're not familliar with??

Flamingo Lady,
It seems sometimes Christians are their own worst enemies. Situations like that you've explained just frosts me!

Occasionally when I'm eating out alone or with my wife I will tell the waiter/watress that I'm about to pray and will inquire if he/she has any request that I might pray about. Sometimes they respond with requests & sometimes they don't. On a couple of occasions I've had a really great conversation where I've either been able to share the gospel or help encourage a fellow believer. Of course this should be done with a great deal of sensitivity to the fact that the person is working and cannot spend alot of time talking.

I think there are as many good things about praying over a meal as there are negative. IMO, keeping it from becoming a meaningless repetitive process is something that every believer has to handle within their own hearts.
Lets face it, going to Sunday worship can become a meaningless process we do if we are not careful about it. Wasn't it Augustine who said, "Sin is not what I do, its who I am."

My 2 cents!

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Blessings,
Randy
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And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." Luke 22:19

I always was taught that Jesus set the example to pray before eating....so, yes, I believe it is scriptural
and normal to give thanks before....'chowing down'

When Jesus fed the 5000 He blessed the bread before he started to pass it out...and there are many many
verses in scripture about giving thanks....I guess if you pray before a meal, you give thanks to God....

We take so much for granted...and this is not intended as a slap to anyone...but if we had less, we might
find it easier to give thanks when we did have something...we might appreciate it more

Oh wow. How did this get into my thread, LOL. I haven't been following this one ........

But just based on above, I'll say that I had a college friend who had the philosophy that:

"Well, if I didn't even eat here {pick any place}, then the restaurant wouldn't even make whatever money I'm paying for my meal. That money I pay for my meal goes into the restaurant profits and eventually some of that helps pay the wait staff's hourly wages. So even if I don't tip, the money I paid for the cost of my meal contributes to the restaurant's business - which gives the waitstaff jobs. ...Secondly, if I tip very poorly, well, at least the waitstaff got SOMETHING...that's better than if I never showed up. In that case, they'd not even get what I gave. So, all-in-all, whether I don't tip or whether I tip poorly, the restaurant and waitstaff still gain in the longrun. It's better than if I hadn't eaten here."

This college study buddy of mine was notorious for this thinking when we went out to eat. He'd justify low tips that way. He felt he had a right to eat out and there was nothing wrong with what he did.

I'm not sure how this got into this thread, but I'm just responding to comments above.

Obadiah asked me how I knew about someone's tips, so I was referencing that.

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formerly known as doinkdom

Hi Friend , Here i just want to let you know that everything what God has done or does in our life we must thank for that whether that is meal or whatever we must pray and thank God.

link removed by administrator, self promoting and off topic

We usually prayed as a family before the evening meal, when I was growing up.

I agree with the comment that "the family that prays together, stays together". When our family was "young", Prayer before the evening meal was usually a verse or two that our children could learn (and say by themselves as they grew older.)
But now that our family is mainly young adults+, prayer before a meal has become something personal, that comes from the heart. Whoever wishes to "say grace" generally says a personal prayer, that may also include a brief 'Thanks' for particular family or friends who have been recently Blessed. Yes-and sometimes it doesn't happen!...but Praying before the evening meal is generally more of a personal acknowledgement of God's bountiful provision in all aspects of our family's life - not just for food.

Went out to lunch today, and yes, it being a Sunday,I prayed before the ate and it was no surprise to me that a lot of people prayed before they ate. I folk was a tad loud and some people were silent.so do you have a special prayer for when you eat or mix it up a bit? I really do pray before lunch and dinner.

Since my entire family on both sides is Roman Catholic, when we are together we always pray "Bless us o Lord, and these thy gifts which we are about to receive, through thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen." My wife's family are all very conservative Baptists, so the meal prayers are usually much longer and include a lot more than food. I am beginning to appreciate and prefer the former.

My father, who until he was diagnosed with cancer was fairly ambivalent toward religion, always makes me pray for meals, because "that's what you went to school for."

One of my favorites was one of my friends, who one time prayed, "Lord, thanks. Amen."

Love it!

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Yes, I pray before eating and I used the allegory of Job 3:24 For my sighing cometh before I eat, And my groanings are poured out like water.

Thanks and God bless.
your brother in Christ.
virgilio

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How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Isaiah 52:7

As RTCrudgi pointed out, our children also sang that song as a prayer before eating. We have a family tradition of thanking God for our food and asking for His continued blessings at every meal and every night before we go to bed. It is how I was taught and I believe it is one way of honoring God before man, no matter where we're eating.

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"I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day." ~Abraham Lincoln