Food family prayer resources

Smiling boy at a table eating.

Eric eating his lunch in Guaymango, El Salvador.

Food is more than just fuel for our bodies. It is a gift from God that connects us to the earth and to the needs of others. 

With these family prayer ideas for children of all ages, we thank God for the gift of food, reflect on food in the Bible and pray for those who don't have enough to eat.

Taste and see  

The Psalmist says: 

“Taste and see for yourselves that the Lord is good: happy are those who take shelter in him.”

Psalm 34:8

Take some time as a family to become aware of the gift of taste. 

First try something sour – like a lemon or grapefruit - and let the bitterness remind you of all the people in our world who are suffering because of poverty or conflict. Take a moment to pray for those people. 

Now try something sweet – like a spoonful of honey or a sweet – and thank God for all the things that bring us joy and hope

Resources

  • Download fileFeeding of the 5,000 (pdf , 133kb)

    Read John 6:1-14 together.

    Imagine you are the boy who shared his lunch. Why not work together as a family to tell the story from that point of view? One person begins with an opening sentence and then passes to the next family member. You could pass a story stick or ball to the next storyteller as you tell your tale.

    Then spend a few minutes reflecting on what you think this story tells us about how God wants us to live today.

    The boy generously shared what he had and, through God’s grace, this simple gift multiplied  to feed everyone. In our world today, there is enough food to feed everyone yet 800 million people regularly go hungry. Like the boy who shared his lunch, we have our part to play. We can help make sure our sisters and brothers around the world have enough food to eat.

    Find out more about how we can help fix the food system.

    Make some foldable paper chains of “multiplying" fish and bread to help you remember the story. 

  • Download fileGrace cube (pdf , 917kb)

    Set an extra place at your family table for a few weeks. As you eat, remind yourselves of those who don’t have a welcome table at which to sit, or food to eat in this country and throughout the world.

    You might like to use our grace cube to thank God for the food you have and pray that everyone may have enough to eat. 

  • Download fileBible Doodle Journal Page (pdf , 738kb)

    Choose one of these Bible stories which feature food:

    1 Kings 17:1-16- Elijah and the widow of Zarephath 

    Exodus 16 – Manna from heaven 

    Luke 24:13-35 – The disciples on the road to Emmaus 

    Listen to the story together and spend some time individually filling in our family doodle journal page. Younger pre-readers may need some help reading the prompts but should be able to join in. Once you’ve finished, come back together and discuss your different ideas on the Bible passage. 

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