The Underground Church

Prayers at meals

Common Table Prayer

Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest,
and let these gifts to us be blessed.
Amen.

(Author unknown; first published in a Moravian hymnal in 1753; German text: Komm, Herr Jesu; sei du unser Gast; und segne, was du uns bescheret hast.)

Christ in the Wilderness

Christ in the wilderness 5000 fed
With 2 small fishes and 5 loaves of bread
May he who multiplied that division
Bless and hallow this provision

(Anonymous)

Be Present At Our Table

Be present at our table, Lord
Be here and everywhere adored
Thy mercies bless and grant that we
May strengthened for thy service be.

(John Cennick, 1741; Can be sung to the tune of Tallis' Canon, or the hymn tune Old 100th.)

Give us grateful hearts

Give us grateful hearts, O Father, for all thy mercies,
and make us mindful of the needs of others;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Source: 1928 Book of Common Prayer)

"Grace before meat"

Domine Deus, Pater omnipotens,
benedic nos, et haec dona,
quae de tua largitate sumus sumpturi,
per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Lord God, Father almighty,
bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts
which we are about to receive from thy great bounty,
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

(This has been beautifully set to music by Hans Leo Hassler (1562-1612).)

Our Heavenly Father, Kind and Good

Our Heavenly Father, kind and good
we thank Thee for our daily food.
We thank Thee for Thy love and care.
Be with us Lord, and hear our prayer.
Amen.

(Anonymous)

Grace at meals

Dear Lord, bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies and us to Thy service. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer)

Grace at Meals

Give us grateful hearts, our Father, for all thy mercies, and make us mindful of the needs of others; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer)

Grace at Meals

Blessed are you, O Lord God, King of the Universe, for you give us food to sustain our lives and make our hearts glad; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer)

Grace at Meals

For these and all his mercies, God's holy Name be blessed and praised; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer)

Bless Us Lord Before We Dine

Bless O Lord before we dine,
each dish of food, each glass of wine,
And make us evermore aware,
how much O Lord, we're in Thy care.

(Source unknown)

Childrens grace

God is great and God is good.
And we thank him for our food.

By his hands we all are fed.
Thank you, Lord, for our daily bread.
God is great and God is good,
And we thank him for our food.Amen.

(with the additional lines, this may be sung to the tune of "twinkle twinkle little star.")

The Selkirk Grace.

Some hae meat and canna eat, and some wad eat that want it.
But we hae meat and we can eat, And sae the Lord be thankit.

(Often attributed to Robert Burns (1759-1796), but likely in existence long before his time.)

From The Small Catechism

The eyes of all wait upon You, O Lord, and You give them their food in due season; You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. Lord God, heavenly Father, bless us and these Your gifts which we receive from Your bountiful goodness, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

(Martin Luther, the Small Catechism)

A German Blessing

Alles was wir haben
Alles ist gegaben
Es kommt, O Gott, von dir
Wir danken dir dafuer.

All that we have
All of it is a gift
It comes, O God, from you,
We thank you for it.

(Traditional German blessing.)