(Mark 14:22-24) And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. (KJV) (1 Corinthians 11:23-27) For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. (KJV) In this modern day many people, including God’s children, have become so involved in everyday business that thanking the Lord for anything has almost become a thing of the past. Many, many times God’s children do not stop to thank God for even the food consumed. I ask this question: why should this be done? It not only should be a matter of habit and ordinary thoughtfulness, but also it should be done because Jesus set an example for all His followers concerning this matter.
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I call your attention again to the texts of the chapter in which Jesus not only blessed the food to be eaten but also gave thanks for it. While it can be argued that no one outside of Jesus can bless what is eaten, we should always ask Him to bless it to the nourishment of the body. Food is a necessity of life. It must be realized by everyone, saved and lost alike, that all things are provided by God.
Food is obtained at the super market. If necessary, we could trace that food back directly to the farmer who grew it and marketed it. The farmer may have placed the seed in the ground and cared for it until harvest time and then harvested it, but it was the Lord Who caused the rain to come down to water the earth. It was the Lord Who provided the correct weather for the crop to grow. It was the Lord Who caused all the correct things to happen in order that that seed might produce its fruit.
No one can obscure the fact of the providence of God. This should be enough for us to ask God’s blessings on the food we eat, even if there were not the example presented by Christ in the texts given.
Without the blessing of God upon the food consumed, that food would not be of any benefit to the individual. Many times, and usually most of the time, God blesses the food to the nourishment of our bodies without the asking of any such blessing. We, however, do not denote any dependence upon Him for that food. Asking God to bless the food denotes dependence upon Him.
Thanking God for the food consumed is only proper. Most people of today are very unthankful.
The child of God should not be so. The Christianity of a child of God should automatically include thankfulness. Unfortunately, many times this is not the case. Jesus was the Son of God, but that did not keep Him from giving thanks for the things He had. An individual’s character can many times be determined by how thankful he is for the material wealth he has. Physically speaking, Jesus did not have very much. This can be seen in Matthew 8:20.
(Matthew 8:20) And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. (KJV) The prayer-habits of Jesus continue into His risen life. Accepting the hospitality of the saints He met on the Emmaus Road, He gave thanks for the evening meal…Was it this characteristic feature that revealed the true identity of the One saying grace to the disciples…?1
Even though Jesus did not have very many material possessions, He was thankful for what He did have. The previous Scripture and the quote above establish this fact. If Jesus was thankful for the material possessions He had, even though He was the Possessor of heaven and earth and all the wealth of this world rightfully belong to Him, He still prayed to the Father and thanked Him for such a small thing as the food He ate. We might ask the question why Jesus would offer thanks for everything He had and ate. The first and principle answer that would come to mind would be because Jesus was to present an example for His believers to follow. What better pattern is there to follow than one that is laid out simple and easy to understand? Jesus gave His disciples many examples to follow and this one is among the easiest.
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Many times, we may wonder why our prayers are seemingly of none effect. Unthankfulness is one reason why prayers are not answered.
We are to be thankful for everything
we have. Emphasis needs to be
placed upon the word “everything.”
When all logic says there’s no way to be
Psalm 100:4, reads this way:
thankful, the Lord’s past fai thfulness and
(Psalms 100:4) Enter into his
constant care, as well as the sacrifice of
gates with thanksgiving, and
His Son, remind us we’d be crazy not to
into his courts with praise: be
trust Him. Gratefully.
thankful unto him, and bless
LIVING THE BATTLE PLAN DAY 34
his name. (KJV)
This infers that we, as God’s children,
should be thankful for everything.
That includes not only the materials that we might possess, but also the food that is eaten, the air that is breathed, the health we have, the safety we are given, and many, many other things that are too often taken for granted. God provides these things to everyone. Everyone would die if these things were not provided by God. Yet so many times they are overlooked or taken for granted.
In his letter to the Colossians, Paul admonished them to be thankful.
(Colossians 3:15) And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. (KJV) There are very few things that are more discouraging to an individual than to have done something for someone and not even receive a simple “Thank you” for it. If human beings are hurt when thanks are not rendered for a good deed or some item given, how does the Father feel when His children fail to thank Him? Everything comes from God, either directly or indirectly. He is the Great Provider. There is nothing more discourteous or rude than being unthankful. Yet, so many times we remain unthankful even when we know that the very life he lives comes from God. Is it any wonder why God does not answer our prayer at times?
One of the characteristics of this last age is Unthankfulness. Romans 1:21 gives a good example of this.
(Romans 1:21) Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God,
neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. (KJV) [Emphasis mine, JFR]
Several other passages of Scripture establish the fact that we should be thankful, of which are the following:
(Deuteronomy 8:10) When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. (KJV) 36
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(Psalms 107:22) And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing. (KJV)
(Colossians 1:12) Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: (KJV) (Colossians 2:6-7) As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. (KJV)
(1 Thessalonians 5:18) In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (KJV)
Even if all these passages of Scripture did not exist, we would still be responsible for giving thanks unto God. The reason is the best of all, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, set the example for everyone.
Examining this prayer is also difficult because the exact words used by Jesus are not recorded. A thorough examination reveals, however, that Jesus blessed the food and gave thanks for it. He then proceeded to institute the Lord’s Supper. This is the second ordinance of the local New Testament church which He founded. It is not the purpose of this writing to examine the Lord’s Supper and all that is connected with it, but merely to examine the prayer and purpose behind it. To give any more under the examination of this prayer would be to repeat much of what has already been written concerning the purpose. The purpose of the prayer explains the examination of it also.
To conclude this chapter, we should follow closely the example given by Jesus at the Supper Prayer.
We should be thankful for everything we have. The examples given in the Supper Prayer should never be taken lightly.
1
Lockyer, p. 222.
The darkness is only temporary, but God’s
Word, His love, His salvation, and His Spirit
are all eternal. If God did nothing else for
us, what He’s already done is cause
enough for a thousand lifetimes of thanks.
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THE PRAYERS OF JESUS
REVISED EBOOK EDITION
