This week, the Ladies are reviving an old segment from the early days of the show: “How to Lutheran,” an exploration of distinctive aspects of Lutheran life that are so familiar as to be almost unnoticed. This week, Rachel’s looking at table prayers: Why do we say them? Which ones do we pray? What’s so distinctively Lutheran about the way Lutherans say grace? And what’s so “common” about the so-called “Common Table Prayer.”

“It is, then, a good and worthy practice to pray before and after meals,” says Rachel. “All our ‘daily bread’ ultimately comes from God, and it’s appropriate to acknowledge this reality out loud and thank Him for His gifts."

Resources referenced in this episode include:

• Who Wrote the Common Table Prayer? – The Lutheran Witness (lcms.org)
• Come, Lord Jesus – The Lutheran Witness (lcms.org) (Gene Veith, 2021)
• Come, Lord Jesus – The Lutheran Witness (lcms.org) (David Loy, 2011)
• Letting these gifts be blessed – The Lutheran Witness (lcms.org) (Emily Olson, 2018)
• Praying Before A Meal: Does The Bible Say We Have To? - Pray With Confidence
• Pre-meal Prayer: John Crist's Official Rules (youtube.com)
• Luther’s Small Catechism by Dr. Martin Luther (cph.org)
• Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest (Sung to Tallis' Canon) - A Common Table Prayer (youtube.com)

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