Musing – Do we treat our souls as well as we treat our bodies?

Hebraic Musing – Do we treat our souls as well as we treat our bodies?

All the labor of man is for his mouth, And yet the soul is not satisfied. Eccl 6:7  NKJV   (Interesting topic at this time of holiday feasting!) If you are like me, you eat the traditional three meals a day.  And as we have been trained to do, we pray before each meal. There are interesting explanations for this three times a day prayer custom.

1.      The NT contains numerous examples of prayers being said before eating -- Matthew 14:19–21 tells us Jesus prayed before the miracle of loaves and fishes; in Luke 24:30 & Acts 27:35 Jesus blessed the bread and gave thanks before the meal; and many more NT examples link prayer and meals.

2.      Jewish Sages tell us that the custom of praying three times a day was based on the three Patriarchs:

a.       Abraham introduced prayer in the morning in Genesis 19:27: “Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD.”  Morning prayer is at a time when things are bright as we look forward to the day He is giving us. We find ourselves praying while things are still going well.

b.      Isaac prayed mid-day in Genesis 24:63 “And Isaac went out to meditate in the field…..”  It sure seems like a good idea to pause when toiling in the middle of the day to get guidance and to acknowledge His presence during our daily toils.

c.       Jacob introduced prayer at night in Genesis 28:11 “When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set.”  Jacob experienced a lot of hardship and uncertainty in his life.  So he shows us the need for prayer during the darkest times of our lives, at night, a time of darkness and uncertainty as we process the events of the day gone by.

3.      Daniel was caught praying three times a day when he heard there was an edict against praying to anyone beside the Babylonian king; and Daniel knew the Lion’s Den was the punishment. “Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” Dan 6:10    By custom Daniel would have been praying the traditional “Sh’ma” loudly three times a day -- “Hear, O Israel: the LORD is our God, the LORD is One." 

4.      When we were at dinner with our group in a Tel Aviv hotel, the Maître De pointed out he knew we were Christians.  “How did you know that?” I asked.  He said that Christians pray before their meal, Jews pray after the meal. Hebrew thinking accepts that everything God created was for our pleasure.  It would therefore be insulting for us to pray before eating in order to sanctify the food (although I’ve heard that sometimes missionaries do pray very hard for their food!).  Our food is already blessed by the Creator by virtue of the fact He gave it to us. Jewish/Hebrew mindset wants to be thankful for the bounty, thus offering a prayer of thanksgiving after the meal. They are obeying Deut. 8:10 “When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.”

Whether you pray three times a day, before or after meals, or morning, noon and night; we are to be in touch with God throughout the day, in all situations. He’s always listening and wants to hear from us.

Point to ponder

Is God okay with hearing from us only three times a day?

Were Abe, Ike, Jake or Dan asking for something from Him?
                             Or just talking to Him?

Please give Him my regards the next time you talk to Him.                          December 8, 2015