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NASB | 1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray without ceasing; |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Thessalonians 5:17 be unceasing and persistent in prayer; |
Bible Question:
Are Christ followers supposed to pray out loud before EVERY meal? It seems like a ritual to me rather than a heart felt prayer and I remember reading a scripture somewhere in the new testament that we ought not to pray out loud in public such as the pharisees but rather in private. I know of Bible examples of praying before eating but should we make it a required rule? Isn't that being legalistic? Thanks, Chusarcik |
Bible Answer: Chusarcik, a hearty greeting to you. Kalos has given a fine answer to your question, not uncharacteristic of him, by the way! To your concerns about legalism and 'grace' before meals, I'd have to borrow a line from Gershwin and say "It ain't necessarily so" that making it a habit to pray before meals constitutes legalism. It may, of course, border on legalism if it becomes little more than mere ritual, engaged in perfunctorily out of a mere sense of playing according to self-imposed rules. I've seen in restaurants, as I'm sure you have, persons who pray aloud and persons who dive headlong into their meal with all the gusto of a wolf devouring its prey. But who am I to judge them? The former may be engaged in meaningless ritualistic legalism and the latter may have prayed silently before his meal was served. I tend to think, Chusarcik, along the lines that Kalos has drawn. We have no business making up rules of our own in order to satisfy our own private sense of decorum. Christianity is not a game and the Bible is not a rule book. God has revealed Himself according to His choosing; He has made it clear what He wishes us to do and not to do. He does not leave it up to us to make our own rules. Quite to the contrary, He forbids it. So why should we waste our time and in the process disobey God in an attempt to gussy up and add our own brand of garnish to or take anything away from the perfect word of God? --Hank |