I’ve written a handful of table prayers that seek to name God in expansive ways … speak gratefulness for our food … and for all the people, creatures, land, weather, etc., that offer it to us … while also being mindful of those in want. Here are fourteen of them. Feel free to use and share!

You’ll find a collection of 16 prayers here. They’re set up on an 8.5 x 11 sheet, double-sided. You can actually laminate them to protect from food messes.

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For the hands and for the lands that give us food to share;
for the earth and rain and sun and weather foul and fair;
for the chance to feed our friends, especially those in need;
for the love that sets this table, in word and food and deed;
for all these gifts, our thanks we bring, Spirit of Life, your praise we sing.
Amen.

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Sweet Spirit of the harvest yield, of ripened fruit and wavy field,
of produce fair and fattened beast, be present at our harvest feast.
We’re thankful for the food set here, for friend and family gathered near,
as well for those afar today, and loved ones as yet in harm’s way.
Please bless our meal with festive mirth and bless our world with peace on Earth.
Amen.

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Great God of winter’s bitter might, of windy dark and snowy white,
our home is warm; we’ve much to eat, while others want for food and heat.
So blend our joy with restless care, that all we have, we have to share.
Amen.

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Sophia-God, in all we eat, may we taste, too, your wisdom sweet:
life’s gracious web connects us all, those who swim and fly and crawl.
Please feed our spirits and our flesh, and fill our lives with love made fresh.
Amen.

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With hungry bellies, hungry hearts, we gather at this table
With thirsty lips and thirsty souls, we come as we are able.
We’re grateful for this food and drink, and those with whom we share it
But more than this we hope you give this meal a deeper merit
‘Tis justice that we hope to taste in body, heart, and soul
And wisdom as we work in love to make this world whole.
Amen.

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Dearest Mother of us all, boulders great and pebbles small,
critters swift and crawlers slow, flyers high and swimmers low,
tree and shrub and plant and vine, gather with us as we dine.
Let our table show this grace: that all might know they have a place.
Amen.

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Great big God up high above, feed us with your great big love.
Hidden God right at our side, feed us with your love so wide.
And, God, don’t think that we are rude, but feed us also with this food!
Amen.

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Gracious God who sends the rain and then the sun to grow the grain,
who woos the worms to move the dirt and lures the honeybees to flirt,
to pollinate both blooms and trees, who carries seed upon the breeze,
who gives the farmers love of land, as well as strength of back and hand,
who all these things does freely do, most gracious God, we say, thank you.
Amen.

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The days are short, the nights are long; in winter’s depth, God, keep us strong;
with food that came from harvests fair, from fields that now lie brown and bare,
and food still fresh from far off lands, harvested by distant hands.
Beyond the food that we see here, bless all the lives both far and near,
who raised it with the earth and sun, for truly, God, we all are one.
Amen.

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Grandmother God with wizened face, join us in our table grace.
Bless the words and food we share and strengthen us so that we dare
embrace your world with loving care.
Amen.

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Papa, as we sit to eat, as our hands reach out and meet,
as our fingers touch in prayer, thankful for the food we share,
make our thanks as well enfold the lives of those whose hands we hold.
Amen.

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Listen, God, that grumbling comes from hungriness down in our tums.
So this will be both short and sweet: thank you, God, and now, let’s eat!
Amen.

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Most Holy Wind of welcome sweet, grace our table as we eat;
may all the food we share be blessed, as well as family, friend, and guest.
Keep field and farm and worker whole, and nourish body, mind, and soul;
and let our words, our mirth, our meal, the welcome of your kin-dom seal.
Amen.

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Please stir us up, O Advent Lord, with hope and hunger point us toward
That Christmas Day when all shall be embraced as children loved by Thee.
Amen.

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