# Have you ever said a prayer before you eat or sleep? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 31, 2011, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-said-a-prayer-before-you-eat-or-sleep/607984 "2011-12-31T22:05:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-said-a-prayer-before-you-eat-or-sleep/607984/41 "2012-01-04T19:45:08Z")
I recite the words and say “Amen” if I’m eating with people who pray aloud. I don’t think I’m saying them to anyone. I might have thought so when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-said-a-prayer-before-you-eat-or-sleep/607984/42 "2012-01-04T20:44:43Z")
> [@AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](#): > > Went to YMCA camp as a teen where we sang grace. Other then that no. Ditto, although it wasn’t run by the YMCA. ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-said-a-prayer-before-you-eat-or-sleep/607984/43 "2012-01-04T21:01:10Z")
Only because my parents made me growing up. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-said-a-prayer-before-you-eat-or-sleep/607984/44 "2012-01-04T21:12:14Z")
No. I never have. My family initially raised me to believe in God but even then we never took the thing too seriously, other than church maybe two times and a “Satan in jail” analogy by my uncle to describe my ADHD to me. > [@SDMBKL](#): > > Yea! Finally you have said something positive about religion! You say that you are raised religious, so that implies that your family is religious and you are not, which means that, even though you disagree with Christianity, you still love your religious family, as family members often give each other unconditional love and support. I doubt anyone wants to isolate himself or herself from one’s family. 😃 I don’t see how any of that makes what he said a positive statement about religion. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-said-a-prayer-before-you-eat-or-sleep/607984/45 "2012-01-04T21:16:03Z")
I do it most nights, and before meals when my wife requests it. The meal prayers seem ritualistic, so they they aren’t important to me (to be clear I think that they are not important to God). The night-time prayers are the essence of what I believe is my relationship with God. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Doctor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-said-a-prayer-before-you-eat-or-sleep/607984/46 "2012-01-04T21:22:04Z")
Born and raised Catholic, though my parents never seemed to take it all that seriously, and never have done Grace or said prayers before bed. I am no longer Catholic or much of anything else when it comes to God. I am actually a bit surprised at the number of people who have. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-said-a-prayer-before-you-eat-or-sleep/607984/47 "2012-01-05T02:41:36Z")
My grandparents on my father’s side said grace before meals. “Bless us, O Lord, for these thy gifts we are about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ, our Lord, Amen.” So, yes. I’ve done it lots and lots of times. Now, my grandma’s name on that side was Grace. So, sometimes, at family gatherings, we would say, “all right, now everyone say Grace!” And then we’d reply, “Grandma!”. I don’t think that last one counts, though. I haven’t done either since I was a kid, at any rate. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-said-a-prayer-before-you-eat-or-sleep/607984/48 "2012-01-05T03:54:31Z")
As a child I did because that was how I was raised. To me it always felt like something you had to do like brushing your teeth or going to the bathroom. As I got older I realized it was a rather pointless exercise and stopped. I’m still amazed that so many otherwise intelligent people to engage in this childish behavior that we as a society should have outgrown a long time ago. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-said-a-prayer-before-you-eat-or-sleep/607984/49 "2012-01-05T04:02:31Z")
Yes, I do. I think it’s funny how many people in this thread who choose not to, instead of simply answering the question, feel the need to slam those who do choose to pray. Grow up already! ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-said-a-prayer-before-you-eat-or-sleep/607984/50 "2012-01-05T04:09:26Z")
> [@PandaBear77](#): > > I think it’s funny how many people in this thread who choose not to, instead of simply answering the question, feel the need to slam those who do choose to pray. Grow up already! I count one person who’s done that. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-said-a-prayer-before-you-eat-or-sleep/607984/51 "2012-01-05T04:46:55Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > I count one person who’s done that. In hindsight, I should have left that out. While I don’t apologize for it, I understand it wasn’t necessary for this thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-said-a-prayer-before-you-eat-or-sleep/607984.md?page=2)