Does Saying Grace Protect Us from Food-Related Illnesses?

1 Timothy 4:1-5:
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

The food is sanctified (set apart), though this verse doesn’t say that it is somehow purified by that process.  The context here is discussing doctrines of devils that command you to abstain from meat.  Paul’s point is that eating meat or anything else is fine with God; God wants you to receive it with thanksgiving.  That’s where saying grace comes in.  As long as you thank God for your food, He doesn’t place restrictions on what you eat – anything is OK from a legal perspective.  It is clear that God expects you to thank Him for your food, though.

Also, it isn’t just prayer that “sanctifies” the food; it’s the Word, too.  That’s because it’s the Word that establishes that you can eat it, even if it’s lobster, pork, or some other food that was forbidden under the Law of Moses.

So I don’t “say grace” because I’m trying to protect myself from illness; I do it out of gratitude to God for providing my food.

Jesus set an example for us:

Matthew 14:19:
And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

Matthew 15:36:
And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

Matthew 26:27:
And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;

Luke 22:19:
And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

Luke 24:30:
And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.

Paul practiced what he preached, too:

Acts 27:35:
And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat.

So there is a biblical pattern of giving thanks for your food.  However, it isn’t explicitly stated that this rids the food of any potential harm.  Fortunately, you don’t need a verse that proves that “saying grace” makes your food OK to eat; Jesus already said that if you drink any deadly thing, it shall not harm you (Mark 16:18).  I believe that your immunity from poisoning would cover what you eat, too, since you are legally healed by Jesus’ stripes.  That alone would cover healing for the effects of anything bad you ate, such as food poisoning.

I can remember getting food poisoning right before a service where I was helping another minister.  Things were coming out both ends five minutes before the service!  But I believed and received my healing, and I was fine after that – I didn’t have to miss the service.  I’d had food poisoning before and I knew that you don’t usually get relief that quickly.  It’s more fun to tell a testimony like that than to live it, though.  I know someone else who was in that situation minutes before the service and he was the speaker!  The Lord healed him instantly, too.