A liturgy for seeking daily bread in the ways we eat and dine.
Glorious One,
You are all that is good.
You meet us where we are,
You seek us and draw near to us.
You are intentional,
You are patient,
You are ever present.
Beloved One,
we come into this space to bring You glory, not our own.
Hallowed be Your name.
As we find ourselves in spaces where things are unfamiliar,
help us to have your Kingdom vision before us.
Your kingdom come, Your will be done.
As we eat together,
may we strive to reflect Your agenda.
In the spaces You have brought us to,
may we take part in every opportunity to sow seeds.
May Your kingdom come at every table,
every meal,
every treat,
every coffee shop encounter.
May Your will be done in restaurants,
in tea shops,
in homes,
in canteens.
As we meander through snack streets or busy food courts,
we bless the ones who walk around us and serve us.
Over every meal,we bless the ones who sit with us.
Even in the seemingly insignificant food deliveries or coffee runs,
we bless the ones who prepare the food
and the ones who travel the distance.
Give Your people the eyes to see the Kingdom at hand.
We strive to see the harvest grow in this place.
We seek to see the ones around us at the table of the wedding feast.
Give us this day our daily bread.
At every table, may we be reminded that You satisfy.
You are our Bread of Life, the one who sustains
and the one who gives all that we need.
As we dine with our dear community members,
may we also lift the needs of our students and friends.
Help us to see beyond the physical daily bread before us.
One who Helps and refines us,
stir in our hearts a longing for eternal contentment found in the Bread of Life.
Equip us with boldness to ask and petition.
Give us eyes to see and ears to hear.
Give them their daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us.
As we come before You and re-align our hearts with Your ways,
we seek forgiveness in our stubbornness, pride, or impatience.
Gracious One,
reveal to us the times where we have been quick to assume or quick to speak.
Make known to me my offensive ways and lead me in the path of your delight.
In our own discomfort and lack of familiarity with newness of food or different cuisines,
we have failed to see the culture of love experienced in this space.
In our language acquisition and difficulties in understanding,
we confess that we have been impatient when ordering food, and frustrated when deliveries were less than satisfactory.
Helper, refine our posture to be one that is open-handed and compassionate.
Wherever we gather for a meal, may we be quick to try new things, quick to speak and act in Truth, and slow to judge or push away.
May we be quick to serve one another and may we be slow to anger.
Remind us to extend the grace You have graciously given to us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Lead your beloved in hungering and thirsting for righteousness as we walk to meet with students or co-workers for meals and as we converse and eat together.
Lead us in the ways that the Son would dine with people from all backgrounds.
Keep us from the temptation to regard meals as simply a time to eat, to see the food as “weird” or inconvenient, or to see the ones we commune with as distant or too different.
May we share the value of food in this culture beyond the dishes set before us.
We surrender our sense of what is “normal” to consume or to do at the table.
May we zoom out and see the significance of eating together as Your Son did in the homes of those who were curious.
Keep us from feeling fear or hesitant to engage – not just in the diversity of plates spinning around, but more importantly, towards the people sitting with us.
Holy One,
Yours is the kingdom.
May we not forget who we serve as we eat with those You have blessed us in knowing.
Yours is the power.
We trust that You go before us as we interact with new foods, curiosity, and the generosity of the culture we live in.
Yours is the glory.
Whether we eat or drink, we strive to do all things for Your glory and Yours alone,
Forever and ever. Amen.
Related Posts
