A grace is a short prayer or thankful phrase said before or after eating. The term most commonly refers to Christian traditions.

Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude (Luke 9:16).

It is humbling to ponder just how dependent we are on God for everything. He is the creator and sustainer of all living things, and from Him comes every good and perfect gift (Genesis 1:1; Colossians 1:16–17; James 1:17). In Him, we live and breathe and have our being (Acts 17:28). Our bodies are “jars of clay,” fragile and dependent (2 Corinthians 4:7). In some of the world’s more materially blessed societies, it is easy to forget this fact. Oftentimes, we do not fully acknowledge our dependence on God and therefore we fail to give Him the thanks He deserves. Saying grace before eating a meal is an example of stopping to acknowledge God’s providential grace and thank Him for His many blessings.

By giving thanks before a meal, we are imitating Christ Himself. We have biblical evidence that Jesus often gave thanks before breaking bread, including before His miracles of feeding the multitudes and while testifying about Himself to the two men traveling the road to Emmaus (Matthew 14:19; 15:36; Luke 24:30). The most memorable time was at the Last Supper, before He was to be crucified (Matthew 26:26–28). He took the bread, gave thanks, and broke it. Not long afterwards, He gave His very own body to be broken and His blood to be poured out on Calvary’s cross for the sins of the world (1 John 2:2; Colossians 1:20). As resurrected Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who is the Bread of Life, offers eternal life to all who would believe in His name (John 3:35–36; 6:57–58).

A simple and most common prayer that should be said before a meal is:

 Lord God, Heavenly Father, bless us and these Thy gifts which we receive from Thy bountiful goodness, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.”