Must only unleavened matzah bread and grape juice be used? Can I use ordinary bread and even water? What about using wine?

Beloved, partaking of the holy Communion isn’t about putting a particular kind of bread in your mouth or swallowing a particular concoction. The power of the Communion does not lie in the physical ingredients of the bread or drink. There is no special recipe to adhere to. The elements have nothing to do with the kind of flour or liquid used, number of calories they contain, or nutritional value they offer.

If you are able to get hold of the Jewish matzah bread, then you can use that. But it certainly does not mean you cannot partake of the Communion if you don’t have matzah bread. You can use any bread or cracker you have at home. There are even crackers that are striped, pierced, and burnt like the matzah bread. These will help to remind you of:

The stripes or scourging our Lord Jesus bore on His own body to purchase our healing (Isa. 53:5)
How His hands and feet were pierced by the nails, how His side was pierced by the soldier’s spear (John 19:34), and how His brow was pierced by the crown of thorns (John 19:2), and
How the fire of God’s judgment fell on Him when he carried our sins (Isa.53:4), so that you can now freely receive His blessings of abundant life, health, and strength.

As for the cup, if you can, take something like grape juice that is the “fruit of the vine” (Luke 22:18) to remind you of your Savior’s precious blood that was shed for you.

Some people have written in to ask about using wine. In our church and care groups, we do not use wine because there may be a few people who have a weakness for alcohol. As taught by the apostle Paul, we do not want to cause anyone to stumble (1 Cor. 8:13). And knowing that individuals have different thresholds for alcohol, we want to avoid the possibility of anyone getting drunk. God is clearly against drunkenness (Rom. 13:13; Eph. 5:18), and that was one of the reasons Paul had to correct the Corinthian Christians who were getting drunk on wine during the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:21). So if you have a weakness for alcohol or are recovering from an alcohol addiction, then as a matter of wisdom, I would suggest you use a non-alcoholic drink such as grape juice, which is easily available.

If you plan to partake of the Communion regularly, for example, on a daily basis, then consider gathering the elements you want to use and having them prepared and ready. If you don’t have the recommended elements with you but feel led to partake of the Lord’s Supper, you can use any bread or biscuit and plain water. It is not about what type of bread or drink to use; it is about remembering the finished work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We have received many testimonies from people who experienced healing as they partook of the Communion in faith, even though all they used were biscuits and plain water. Many of these precious folks felt led to partake of the Communion while they were in a hospital. Some had just rushed their children to the hospital; some, sent by their specialist doctors, were waiting to go for further testing. Armed with a revelation of the Communion, they used whatever type of bread or crackers they could get their hands on. In like manner, if they couldn’t find grape juice, they used plain water.

With just those simple elements, they remembered the Lord’s finished work on the cross and received the Communion. Later, they wrote to my ministry to tell how they saw the Lord deliver them or their loved ones from high fevers and even tumors, or how they saw the Lord accelerate their recovery from strokes or other medical conditions.

Friend, the Communion is all about Him and His finished work. This means there is nothing you can do by your own efforts that will make the Communion more holy or effective. All you need to do is come and partake. And even if you can only get hold of ordinary bread and water, you can still partake in faith and receive the Lord’s healing.

Adapted from

Joseph Prince, Eat Your Way to Life and Health—Unlock the Power of the Holy Communion (Nashville: Emanate Books, 2019), pp183–184.