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Key Bible Verse: Let them praise the Lord … for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things (Psalm 107:8-9). Bonus Reading: Psalm 65:9-12

A steaming dinner was served on fine bone china. I was impressed, starved, and ready to indulge. "Please bow your head," our host said.

"Lord," he began, "thank you for Your gift of this culinary masterpiece. Thank you for the sacrifice of those who labor in the potato fields under the hot sun, day after day. May they experience Your grace amid their monotonous, backbreaking work. We pray for the provision of life's basic necessities for the families of the immigrant laborers who picked the beans. They encounter low wages, and difficult working conditions. We pray for those who advocate on their behalf, and for justice.

"We pray also for the truck drivers who deliver our food, often away from their families for days on end. And for those who've cooked this meal and will wash our dishes. We're grateful that they've given us the gift of time so that we may engage in exercises of mind and spirit. And now, may we savor both this food—come to us from so many hands and over so many miles—and each other's company. Amen."

Silence. Slowly the heads rose and eyes opened, looking a little tentative and stunned. We'd just been jolted into recognizing the miracle of our meal.

—Bruce Main in Spotting the Sacred

My Response: Is gratitude moving me beyond self-centered greed to considering the lives and sacrifices of others?

Thought to Apply: Even the hen lifts her head toward heaven when swallowing her grain. —African proverb

Adapted from Spotting the Sacred (Baker, 2006) by permission.

Copyright © 2007 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine. Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Move me, Lord, beyond appreciation for desires granted to gratitude for all Your wisdom allows.

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