Quick Answer
The God is Great, God is Good prayer is a short four line meal blessing, usually prayed by children before eating: "God is great, God is good, and we thank Him for our food. By His hands we all are fed, give us, Lord, our daily bread. Amen."
It is one of the most widely taught family graces in the English speaking Christian world, sitting alongside the Catholic "Bless us, O Lord" and the simple "For what we are about to receive."
The Standard Text
The most common version goes:
"God is great, God is good, and we thank Him for our food. By His hands we all are fed, give us, Lord, our daily bread. Amen."
Cornelius Plantinga's commentary in Reformed Worship records the same wording almost word for word, framing it as the prayer Christian parents teach their children to say at the dinner table. The line "give us, Lord, our daily bread" is a direct echo of the Lord's Prayer.
Where It Came From
The exact authorship of God is Great, God is Good is unknown. It is part of a wider family of short rhymed graces that grew up in Anglo American Protestant households in the 19th and 20th centuries, and it stuck because it is short, easy to memorise, and sings naturally with children. Even families who do not pray formally at any other meal often know this one from childhood.
Common Variations
Different households swap the last two lines. Common alternatives include:
- "By His hand we must be fed, give us, Lord, our daily bread. Amen."
- "Thank You, God, for daily bread, by Your hand we all are fed. Amen."
- "God is great and God is good, let us thank Him for our food. Amen." (the short version, just the first two lines)
None of these are wrong. The prayer was passed down by ear long before it was printed, and any version that keeps the two core ideas, God is good and we are grateful, is faithful to it.
What the Prayer Actually Says
Strip the rhyme away and the prayer is making three theological statements about a plate of food.
- God is great. The God who made the wheat field is bigger than the field.
- God is good. The same God is not distant or hostile; He is kind.
- We thank Him for our food. Gratitude is the right response to a gift you did not earn.
The closing line about daily bread quietly hands the next meal back to God too, the way the Lord's Prayer does.
How to Teach It to Kids
Pick one version and stick with it for a few weeks so the rhythm sticks. Pray it the same way every meal, hands folded, eyes closed if they will. Let the youngest child lead once they can. Add a single specific thank you on the end ("...and thank You for [Grandma being here / Lily's birthday / the rain today]") to teach them prayer is not a script but a conversation.
For Adults Too
Grown ups sometimes feel sheepish about praying a "kids" grace. Do it anyway. The prayer is theologically sound, it is fast, and it is a small act of resistance against eating meals on autopilot in front of a screen. If you want something longer, layer it: pray God is Great, God is Good, then add a sentence in your own words for the people at the table.
Other Short Graces That Pair Well
If you want to mix it up, these are the other classics families rotate through:
- Catholic Bless Us, O Lord. "Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts which we are about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen."
- The simple grace. "For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful. Amen."
- The Hamotzi. The Jewish blessing over bread, "Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth."
Why It Has Lasted Generations
Short prayers that scan as rhyme survive because they pass from grandparent to parent to child without ever being formally taught. The kid hears it twenty times, joins in by ear, and one day they are the adult leading it at their own table. There is no theology degree required, no missal needed, no script to fumble. That is why God is Great, God is Good has outlasted a hundred shifts in family life, including the move to phones at the table, takeaway boxes and meals on the go. A prayer that fits in eight seconds can compete with anything.
It also quietly normalises a posture most adults have lost: pausing before eating. Even people who walk away from the faith later still remember the feeling of folding hands as a child. That muscle memory matters more than the rhyme itself.
Bottom Line
God is Great, God is Good is a four line meal grace that says everything a meal blessing needs to say in eight seconds: God is big, God is kind, the food is from Him, thank You. Teach it to the kids, pray it yourself, and let it slow your table down by one breath before you eat.
