Come, Lord Jesus, Be Our Guest (Classic Table Grace)

Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let these gifts to us be blessed.

Amen.

About This Prayer

Known simply as the Common Table Prayer, this two-line grace came into English from the German "Komm, Herr Jesu, sei unser Gast" and first appeared in print in a Moravian hymnal in the 1750s. Carried by Moravian and Lutheran families to kitchens around the world, it has long since crossed every denominational line — for many people it is the first prayer they ever learned, and the one still said at every family table decades later. Its genius is the first line: it doesn't just ask a blessing on the food, it invites Jesus to sit down and eat with us.

In Plain Words

If you'd rather pray the same heart in your own words: Jesus, join us at this table — be as welcome here as any guest we love. And bless this food you've given us. That's the whole prayer: an open chair and a thank-you.

A Verse to Hold On To

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." — Revelation 3:20 (KJV)