PS: Bless the Food

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As part of our Christmas libations, we of course sat down to pray several times. In customary fashion, we ended the evening with a refreshment, and my sister took pains to mention it specifically in her prayer with the phrase “P.S. Bless the Food”. I found this interesting as I thought about prayers I have heard all my life. Too many people get caught up in fancy words, covering all the bases, that they sometimes forget the literal reason for which we pray- to talk to God.

Many people go through the motions of prayer. They talk at or to God without talking with Him. In too many cases, it becomes something akin to a visit to Santa where the petitioner presents his wish list to God and promises to obey if he gets what he demands. That’s not how it works, and it will not reap the benefits for which they hope. A burglar might well pray before breaking into a series of homes that “we’ll be protected and travel home in safety” with the kind of lowbrow hypocrisy that establishes in them a sense of entitlement to things they have not learned.

While our times for prayer have an ultimate and immediate goal, the reason for prayer is really to put us in touch with the truth. The fact of the matter is that God is greater than we are, and we petition Him in times of need and thank Him in times of plenty. It shows who serves whom. Perhaps that’s why so many people don’t really pray or don’t even pretend to pray. They don’t really want to talk to their Heavenly Father; that would require them to bring Him up to date honestly about the status of their affairs.

Did you think to pray? Do you think about what you say when you pray? Do you consider the real audience of your prayer? When you pray, you are talking with a God, who is willing to give you audience despite how puny you really are. That illuminates the entire experience. He delights to bless you. I don’t know why; I just know that’s true. If it’s important to you, it’s important to Him because YOU are important to Him. Pray to Him often. Tell Him how you feel, what you think what worries you, what you’ve done, where you’re stuck, about your troubles, your joys, your adventures, and your triumphs, and then thank Him for the role He played. He loves to hear from you. Our joy increases His.

PS, Bless the food.