When instituting the memorial of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus gave thanks before passing the bread and before passing the fruit of the vine. Such also was the practice of the church after He returned to heaven (1 Cor. 10:16; 11:17-34). Sometimes the men who serve on the Lord’s table fail to “give thanks” for the bread and the cup in their prayers. This may be an oversight, or perhaps it may be attributed to a lack of understanding and knowledge concerning this matter. It’s as if you were asked to give thanks for a meal and failed to do so in your prayer. Of course, this is a much more important occasion.

I remember years ago, a brother who was serving on the Lord’s table failed to “give thanks” for the bread or the fruit of the vine in his prayer (I can’t remember which one). After services, an older brother put his arm on his shoulder and pointed out to him that he failed to give thanks at the Lord’s table. He pointed out essentially the same points made in this article, and stressed how we need to follow the example that Jesus has provided. Christ offered thanks. We should do so too. The brother was ever so appreciative and grateful to this older brother who had called this oversight to his attention. From that point on, I observed that he always remembered to “give thanks” for the bread or for the fruit of the vine when he served the Lord’s Supper.

Before we can know how to lead these two prayers (one for the bread; one for the fruit of the vine), we must understand what they are. They are prayers of thanksgiving. When Jesus took the bread and “blessed” and gave it to them, that doesn’t mean that He just pronounced His blessings upon the bread. The verb “blessed” both in the English and the original language, sometimes does mean “to bestow blessings upon,” but that is not what the word means when Jesus instituted the Supper. It is the Greek word eulogeo (Matt. 26:26; Mk. 14:22) which also means “to give thanks” (W.E.Vine & Strong’s Exhaustive

Concordance of the Bible). There are other times when “blessed” means “to give thanks.” When Jesus fed the 5,000, it is said He took the food and “blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples”; but when Jesus fed the 4,000 it is said He took the seven loaves and the fish and “gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples” (Matt. 14:19; 15:36). He did the same thing on both occasions – He gave thanks – just as we are commanded to give thanks before eating our food (1 Tim. 4:4-5).

Of the four accounts of the institution of the Lord’s Supper, two in the King James version read that Jesus took bread and “blessed,” and the other two read that He “gave thanks” (Matt. 26:26-27; Mk. 14:22-23; Lk. 22:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:24-25) Thus, “blessed” (eulogeo) and “gave thanks” (eucharisteo) are used interchangeably. What one means, the other means. It is evident that “blessed” and “gave thanks” in these passages mean the same thing – He gave thanks.

Are our prayers at the table for the purpose of expressing gratitude “for the opportunity to be here,” or “for this beautiful day”? Obviously not. It isn’t that it would be wrong to be thankful for such things at the table, or at any time. Nor would it be wrong to ask God to bless the bread and the cup (i.e., pronounce His blessings upon), or on anything which is received or done according to His will. However, when Jesus “blessed” the bread, He gave thanks for it. We must do the same in our prayers when we are serving at His table.

The Psalmist stated: “It is good to give thanks to the Lord” (Psa. 92:1). Paul said, “in everything give thanks” (1 Thes. 5:18). These words certainly apply to the Lord’s Supper, especially in light of the fact that Jesus taught this by word and example when He instituted the Supper. It is important when praying at the table to give thanks for the bread which represents our Savior’s body and to give thanks for the cup (fruit of the vine) which represents the blood of our Savior. As a rule, practically every “opening” and “closing” public prayer includes expressing thanks (and rightly so; we have so much for which to be thankful). Surely the same should be true of every prayer at the Lord’s table. Most who serve the Lord’s Supper say good things to God; but sometimes the problem or mistake involves what is not said – a failure to give thanks for the bread and the cup (fruit of the vine). Let us strive to word our prayers of thanks clearly and properly so that all can say, “Amen.”

Reference Sources:
AN EXPOSITORY DICTIONARY OF NEW TESTAMENT WORDS, W.E. VINE
STRONG’S EXHAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE OF THE BIBLE (with Hebrew, Chaldee and Greek Dictionaries)
LAKELAND HILLS LEADER, MARC GIBSON
THE MIDDLE PERIOD, R.C. FOSTER
THE FINAL WEEK, R.C. FOSTER
A COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS, MIKE WILLIS