Father's Table Grace
As we sit at the table - our family's heads bowed low
My thoughts returned to childhood and the finest man I know.
He didn't speak eloquent English. He was just a simple man
But when he's talking to the Lord, even a little child can understand.
I was young and restless but the thought still comes to me,
When I told my dad I felt I was old enough to leave.
He sat there at the table and a look came on his face.
And he never spoke another word til he said the table grace.
He said, our precious Heavenly Father - we're all gathered here today
To give Thee thanks for blessings so humble we pray.
My oldest son is leaving, but I'm sure he knows what's best.
But just in case would you stand by and help him stand the test.
Lord he's awful neglectful about church on Sunday morn
And if he gets with the wrong crowd, would you let him hold your arm?
And if he flies too high - would you clip his wings..
But don't let him fall too hard. I'm sure Lord you can handle things.
I've tried my best from day to day to teach him right from wrong.
And he's grown to be a fine young man and he's always blessed our home.
We pray Thee Lord for guidance, that he won't build upon the sand.
But we won't worry half as much if we know he's in Your hands.
And oh yes Lord - it won't be long til I'll be coming home.
Don't make me wait too long.
We pray Thee Lord for guidance. Please cleanse us from our sins
So we can all be together in Heaven. In Jesus' name Amen.
The table was silent as tears streamed down my face.
And from that day on I based my life on Father's Table Grace.
This is an old old song but I heard it a few days ago for the first time. Of course what attracted it to me was the title "Father's Table Grace". As I listened to it over and over, there were so many thoughts that flooded my mind. My memories of daddy praying are at church when I was a very small child and there was a period of time when he gathered us all to the living room for family devotion. He would kneel down and read scripture out of a Big Black family Bible we kept on the coffee table and then he would pray before we would go to bed. Now that I look back on that, prayer was something daddy enjoyed and did mostly when he was alone. I believe he felt it was a very personal time between him and the Lord. However, I do have many, vivid memories of family dinners at the table at the end of our day. We ate together everyday when I was growing up. I can see him in his white t-shirt, his hair wet and combed back, face shining. I see him chewing and remember how he moved his food around his plate with his fork. Daddy was a man of few words that spoke volumes of lessons!
Although this is just a song - IT speaks volumes. The lesson that jumped out at me the first time I heard it - and I have listened to it over and over - is that the son's life changed course because of his father and the prayer that he "heard" him pray. Hearing his father pour out his love for him to our Father made an indelible mark on him that he could never escape. Wow! What a lesson for us! Prayer shouldn't be a ritual but simply verbalizing our feelings to our best friend, Jesus. And it not only impacts our lives but the lives of those who hear it. I thought about Larry of course, since he is the oldest of our family. We listened to this song together last night. He bowed his head and even though I couldn't see his eyes, I believe I could read some of his thoughts. I cherish moments like we shared then. We are prodigals. Daddy was prodigal. Same as eccentric! Jesus was prodigal. God is prodigal. Did God not spend his resources freely and recklessly on us? He gave His Son!!
prod·i·gal
adjective
1.
spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant.
2.
having or giving something on a lavish scale.
When the woman broke her alabaster box of oil on Jesus wasn't she recklessly extravagant? While all the "religious" folks were saying how wasteful she was! When it comes to Jesus and his purposes, we should be willing to do and give on a reckless scale!!!!
When I was typing the lyrics a new thought came to me. When the father prayed he said "we". It was about "we" - family. The less we use the word I, the better we are even in our prayers. How often are my prayers so encased with "I".
The Lord has been working with me about my prayer life for several months. Like daddy, I mostly do it when alone. Keep it private. And don't do it near enough. And sadly it's too canned, formal and ritualistic. And somehow I have a mindset that I have to set aside time to pray. I believe daddy (and the Holy Spirit) is telling me through this song - don't keep it so private! It is the same as ignoring someone you love. Acting like they don't exist. And that those I love need to hear it. It might change the course of their life. So, if you hear me talking but you don't see anyone else around, just know that I am talking to my best friend Jesus. Because He is always with me where ever I am.
I also have memories of walking up on daddy while he was working or doing a task and he would be talking and I thought he was just talking to himself. :)
