Do you pray at meals?

[luvsJack]

Just curious here...

For those who must pray before a meal, how do you handle a situation, outside your own home, of course, when dining with non-believers object to prayer?

Again, this is just out of curiosity and I suspect the answers will vary.

I don't really understand why someone would object to prayer unless of course the person praying was trying to force the non-believer into praying with them or insisted on praying for the non-believer.

 

[yeartolate]

I don't really understand why someone would object to prayer unless of course the person praying was trying to force the non-believer into praying with them or insisted on praying for the non-believer.

That is what I don't understand. I have never seen a nonbeliever object to prayer at a meal. My gues is that someone who would do this is disrespecful in general. It would be as disrespecful for the believer to force the non believer to pray.

 

[Buckalew11]

Just curious here...

For those who must pray before a meal, how do you handle a situation, outside your own home, of course, when dining with non-believers object to prayer?

Again, this is just out of curiosity and I suspect the answers will vary.

George, it isn't that we must pray. It is a want to type thing. I've eaten many meals in my life with no prayer beforehand.

We've never been in a situation where someone objected. I have no idea how my DH would react. If it were me, I'd just say a silent prayer and eat. My sister and her DH are non-believers and they always just bow their heads. Their son(17), who went to WDW with me twice, actually asked if he could take a turn and give thanks.

 

[Uncle Remus]

That is what I don't understand. I have never seen a nonbeliever object to prayer at a meal. My gues is that someone who would do this is disrespecful in general. It would be as disrespecful for the believer to force the non believer to pray.

Oh, I've been at plenty of meals where the assumption was that we would pray.
Course, where I live the assumption is everyone is Christian too.

 

[yeartolate]

Oh, I've been at plenty of meals where the assumption was that we would pray.
Course, where I live the assumption is everyone is Christian too.

An assumption that you would pray is at best naive.

I have no problem with the assumption.

I would have a problem if you were forced to pray or made to feel unwelcome because you did not.

 

[tinatark]

I pray in the mornings when I wake up, one of us prays in the car before we (me, ds 13 and ds15) leave for school in the mornings, we pray before meals, either at home or out, and our kids pray to themselves at bedtime. I like "breath prayers" during the day - I heard about them in a devotion I listened to once, just little, one sentence prayers, throughout the day, as necessary.

We hold hands, occasionally, not for the "show" but just for the unity it brings.

When we pray with non-prayers, they usually just wait til we're done to talk/eat, etc.

 

[GeorgeG]

To be clear, I personally never said I must pray before a meal, just that our family does. If I'm out having a meal with friends or co-workers, believers or not, we generally don't.

I wasn't suggesting that you must pray. The reason I asked this was because we used to have some good friends who we spent a lot of time with. Somewhere along the line, her step-father pushed religion on them and they became very much under his control. We were at our house one day and ordered out for pizza. It was a very casual circumstace and they knew very well I was an atheist. I was about to take my first bite when I was interrupted by their insistance that they pray first. I shrugged and stated it was just pizza and we weren't even sitting around a table. They got very indignant and stated that by me not praying I was basically showing their young children I didn't love them and that I was causing them to be traumatized. Mind you, I hadn't made a big fuss about it, I was just surprised that they were insisting on it. I grabbed my slice and told them they could pray, but not to include me. The friendship started fading about then when they started interjecting "the Lord" into every sentence that came out of their mouth and told us we could no longer be friends if we voted for Clinton for president (we had no intention of voting for him and they knew that).

They could easily have done their praying and let it go at that, but it turned into a control issue that got my defenses up. I have been in more than a few silmilar situations, but mostly I just get a dirty look when I don't join in. Real friends know and accept me as I am.

 

[VickiVM]

I wasn't suggesting that you must pray. The reason I asked this was because we used to have some good friends who we spent a lot of time with. Somewhere along the line, her step-father pushed religion on them and they became very much under his control. We were at our house one day and ordered out for pizza. It was a very casual circumstace and they knew very well I was an atheist. I was about to take my first bite when I was interrupted by their insistance that they pray first. I shrugged and stated it was just pizza and we weren't even sitting around a table. They got very indignant and stated that by me not praying I was basically showing their young children I didn't love them and that I was causing them to be traumatized. Mind you, I hadn't made a big fuss about it, I was just surprised that they were insisting on it. I grabbed my slice and told them they could pray, but not to include me. The friendship started fading about then when they started interjecting "the Lord" into every sentence that came out of their mouth and told us we could no longer be friends if we voted for Clinton for president (we had no intention of voting for him and they knew that).

They could easily have done their praying and let it go at that, but it turned into a control issue that got my defenses up. I have been in more than a few silmilar situations, but mostly I just get a dirty look when I don't join in. Real friends know and accept me as I am.

I hope you do realize that is rather extreme and bizarre and so not the norm with most Christians. So if you come over to our house and we're eating pizza with you and you sit out the prayer, the most you'll probably get is the dog giving you the stink eye waiting for you to drop your slice on the floor.

 

[LisaMommy]

We're not religious people, thus never pray, but we have many friends that do. I teach the kids to bow their heads and refrain from talking/eating until the prayers have been said. IMO, that is not too much to ask out of people.

 

[Buckalew11]

Real friends know and accept me as I am.

And you were in your own house even? Wow. Those were some *different* friends... They sound almost a bit brainwashed to me, but that is probably a mean thing for me to even say.

I know how defensive I get when a client I have wonders how I, a Christian, can go and take my family on vacations to WDW.

It takes all kinds!

 

[Cool-Beans]

I've been thinking about this topic. I don't know why I pray before meals.

Yeah, I'm thanking God. But I don't think God selected me to feed while allowing others to starve. While it would be nice to think that the Big Guy just likes me sooo much more than them...I don't think so.

I don't think God is getting involved with feeding us. "Beanie gets to eat, but some poor kid in Africa dies of starvation," just doesn't sound like God to me.

Yet I thank Him for the food.

I just don't know.

It's a good thing our frequently-banned friend is no longer on these boards or he'd be all over this thread and the fact that I don't know why I'm praying, lol.

 

[Dan Murphy]

.....We've never been in a situation where someone objected......

......Real friends know and accept me as I am.

I have prayed with Bren at the Liberty Tree and have not prayed with George at the Plaza. I am flexible.

 

[Buckalew11]

It's a good thing our frequently-banned friend is no longer on these boards or he'd be all over this thread and the fact that I don't know why I'm praying, lol.

 

[Buckalew11]

I have prayed with Bren at the Liberty Tree and have not prayed with George at the Plaza. I am flexible.

Dan, I thought of that. I don't remember if Keith asked if you cared or not. Probably not since he knew you. Plus, you were thankful we were't taking you to Casey's for a hotdog!
Btw, Keith had a Casey's dog last trip in honor of my dad. I passed. I ate everyTHING else in honor of everyONE else though!

 

[fortheluvofpooh]

yes

 

[GeorgeG]

And you were in your own house even? Wow. Those were some *different* friends... They sound almost a bit brainwashed to me, but that is probably a mean thing for me to even say.

I know how defensive I get when a client I have wonders how I, a Christian, can go and take my family on vacations to WDW.

It takes all kinds!

Yes, they were a bit extreme. I realize that is not typical, but I somehow manage to find the non-typical when I'm not even looking.

You are exactly right about them being brainwashed. They were totally transformed from when we used to enjoy each others company. The step-father was very controlling in everything he did and he once gave my wife a bible that came with a book on how to read the bible. It always had to be his way. They always wanted to go to WDW on vacation with us and the step-father raised a stink and told them couldn't go.

 

[slo]

We pray at dinner every night - at home .

My kids are starting to pray before all meals, which I am really proud of

We don't pray in public, but someone mentioned how they just say "thanks" silently, and I love that, and I never thought of that. I will now start doing that, because I think that's just great I will also share that with my girls.

 

[almburr]

We pray at home or at family members. Im Catholic DH is Church of Christ. Kids are raised Catholic. At home we say the Catholic prayer, if we go to his family we follow their prayer. Funny thing ive never said the prayer after meals, some Catholics do some dont.

 

[JustcallmeHappy]

We do at all meals, and when we go out to eat we also pray

 

[Cool-Beans]

We pray at home or at family members. Im Catholic DH is Church of Christ. Kids are raised Catholic. At home we say the Catholic prayer, if we go to his family we follow their prayer. Funny thing ive never said the prayer after meals, some Catholics do some dont.

I've been Catholic since I was a baby. Went to mass, Catholic school, raised the kids as Catholics (to the best of my ability), whole bit.

I have no idea what the Catholic Prayer is. Is it "Bless us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty..."

I'm asking only because I really don't know what is Catholic-specific and what goes across the board. There are plenty of DISers who can testify to the fact that I know precious little about other denominations.

Since I left Catholic school, I have not said the after-the-meal prayer.

The first day of first grade, I came home and mom asked how it was and I told her. Then she asked if we said any prayers (as if she didn't know.) According to her, I said, "Did we say prayers?! We prayed and we prayed and we prayed!" I went on to detail each of the prayers we had to say. I was not pleased, lol.