Jesus taught us many things about prayer in the Gospels, but He also demonstrated the importance of prayer before His followers. While we recognize that our private praying ought to be in secret, we should also recognize that our public praying will only be as good as our private praying. One aspect of our Lord’s praying that should be practiced more in our lives is that of thanksgiving, thanking God on a regular basis for all that He continues to bestow on us. Praying before a meal is a very common practice in our homes but often it becomes more of a ritual than it does sincere prayer. This is a prayer of thanksgiving and should reflect our humble praise and thankfulness to God, Who daily benefits our lives.