I know it’s a feat in and of itself to get dinner on the table AND everyone (or at least most of your people) gathered around it. But before you actually start to eat, pause and say grace. Should you say grace at family dinner? Or why should you say grace as a family? There are several reasons but I’ve included the ones that I think are most important. Here are three reasons to say grace (or pray over your food) at the start of family dinner.
1. It engenders gratitude
I don’t know about your house but we could always use more gratitude around here. 😉 Saying grace is a perfect way to pause and give thought and thanks for the many good things we have, which can increase happiness. It can also specifically remind us that we should be grateful for the food we’re eating for dinner, the effort someone put in to make dinner or pick it up, and this amazing earth that provides plants and animals for our dinner tables. Help your family increase their awareness of gratitude by pausing before every meal to say grace.
2. It is unifying
How many times a day is everyone in your household doing the same thing at the same time? Probably not very often. Coming together and sitting around the table and bowing your head or holding hands or folding your arms for a moment all together is powerful. It is a time to feel that even though you are all individuals, you are also a part of something bigger and you belong.
3. It builds faith
We are a household of faith. We believe that God is our father and that He loves us. Prayer is a way to talk to God. By saying grace you are showing your family members by example and in practice that you believe in God and that you want to talk to Him, express gratitude to Him and have Him be a part of your life.
Are you convinced its worth it? Here’s the truth – talking about it probably won’t convince you. You’ll have to actually put it into practice at your own dinner table in your own home with your own people to see the difference. But I hope as you do, you see that it is worth it to say grace over your food as a family. That you will see an increase of gratitude, an increase of unity and an increase of faith in small ways as you start off family dinner with a prayer.
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