As we continue to grow in our walks with Elohim we begin to shed more and more tradition for what scripture tells us and models for us. Some things are larger in their way and some seem almost insignificant, yet we know that everything we do should be done for the Glory of Elohim and thus holds relevance.
One of the things that does come up in some discussion is the matter of when we pray over our food. I've heard every side from 'Well it doesn't matter', to a well known Rabbi priding himself in entrapping people who don't do it the way he thinks they should. Like everything though we must look to scripture as our guide.
It never fails that the first verse people turn to in Torah regarding this topic is Deuteronomy 8:10 which says, So you will eat and be satisfied, and you will bless Adonai your God for the good land he has given you. This verse is happening within the context of a very specific conversation from Elohim to his people, yet it does make clear a very important thing nowhere else found; that prayer and thanksgiving for Elohim's provisions should be offered after every meal. But is it really so clear? Some versions make a distinct timeline that the praise comes after the meal while others simply show it to be an association with the meal. It is a verse which stands alone on this command, yet because it is from the Torah many will take it and look no further into this topic, even making it an issue of pride.
There is more to the concept of prayer with meals however, and the other side of the meal has far more scripture to guide us. Praying before our food is eaten is also not commanded inherently within scripture, but we see it modeled by the Messiah repeatedly and we have no example of him praying after he has eaten at all. So while we can speculate that he must have in order to be obedient to his own Torah there remains the possibility that it is the command in Deuteronomy which has been misunderstood.
Matthew 14:19 shows us one such example of Y'shua praying before the meal, as it says, After instructing the crowds to sit down on the grass, he took the five loaves and the two fish and, looking up toward heaven, made a b’rakhah. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the talmidim, who gave them to the crowds. Luke 9:16 repeats this event, Then he took the five loaves and the two fish and, looking up toward heaven, made a b’rakhah, broke the loaves and began giving them to the talmidim to distribute to the crowd. And to show it wasn't over one single event Mark 8:6 says, He then told the crowd to sit down on the ground, took the seven loaves, made a b’rakhah, broke the loaves and gave them to his talmidim to serve to the people. And Matthew 26:26, While they were eating, Yeshua took a piece of matzah, made the b’rakhah, broke it, gave it to the talmidim and said, “Take! Eat! This is my body!” We also can't forget John 6:23, Then other boats, from Tiberias, came ashore near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had made the b’rakhah.
Yet the Messiah wasn't the only one to model this to us. It was then continued by the Apostles as we see in Acts 27:35 When he had said this, he took bread, said the b’rakhah to God in front of everyone, broke it and began to eat. So we too as Y'shua's disciples are to follow his leadership.
So no matter our stance on the verse in Deuteronomy, whether we feel it is a commanded timeline or an association of food and prayer, we can clearly then see that we are to pray with our food first and foremost. We are to follow the Messiah's leadership which means praying before we eat, and should you feel led to do so I would encourage a prayer and thanksgiving after the meal as well. I always feel that when there is doubt it is better to er on the side of caution, and if nothing else it gives us more time to worship Elohim (and let's my children know when they can be excused from the table).
So let us remember to not divide over this issue, and that no matter what all food given to us by Elohim was designed for us and for his praise, to be taken with thanksgiving as 1 Timothy 4:3-5 says, They forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods which God created to be eaten with thanksgiving by those who have come to trust and to know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing received with thanksgiving needs to be rejected, 5 because the word of God and prayer make it holy.
