Our Daily Bread
Do you rely on God for your daily needs?
Verse of the Day
‘Give us today our daily bread.’
Today’s Devotional
For most of us, this one sentence encompasses the majority of our prayer lives. We often skip over or ignore the heavenly realm altogether and go straight to our needs. Why do we do this? Because these are the things that are important to us, and because these things are tangible.
Since I am currently reading numerous books on prayer, I am simply going to share with you what a few people (all of whom are smarter than I) have to say about this part of our Lord’s Prayer.
Andrew Murray from With Christ in the School of Prayer: “When we have yielded ourselves to the Father in concern for His name, His Kingdom , and His will, we have full liberty to ask for our daily bread. A master cares for the food of his servant, as does a general for his soldiers, or a father for his child. The Father in heaven will care for the children who have given themselves up in prayer to His interests. We may in full confidence say, “Father, I live for your honor and your work. I know you care for me.” Consecration to God and His will gives wonderful liberty in prayer for temporal things. The whole earthly life is given over to the Father’s loving care.”
Richard Foster from Prayer: This part of the Lord’s Prayer “is completely consistent with Jesus’ pattern of living, for he occupied himself with the trivialities of humankind. He provided wine for those who were celebrating, food for those who were hungry, rest for those who were weary. So it is fully in order that he invites us to pray for our daily bread. He welcomes us with our 1,001 trifles, for they are each important to him. We pray for daily bread by taking to God those trifles that take up the bulk of our days. Are we unable to find a babysitter while we are at work? Well, then, we pray for daily babysitters. Do we need a little space to think things out? Then we pray daily for solitude and rest. Are we struggling with a relationship at work or at home? We ask for patience and wisdom and compassion – daily, hourly. This is how we pray for daily bread.”
Anthony Lee Ash from Pray Always: “It is God to whom ultimate trust must be given. The prayer for daily bread recognizes that regardless of one’s material status, the disciple sees God as the source of all that exists and the only one upon whom sure reliance for the needs of life can be placed, not income, or inheritance, or investments, or retirement provisions, or government subsidies. To rely on these and not on God is the great folly.
Thus this petition is a cure for the greed that so satiates our country. We want more and more, beyond our needs and even beyond the possibility of our use. We are trained to want and, in addition, we are so insecure and worried about the future. Certainly any one should use good sense in providing for the days to come, but the Christian realizes that the best provision of all is to first seek God’s kingdom. “Give us each day our daily bread” is not only a request, but a reminder that can affect inner transformation as we pray it.”
My takeaway from studying this is the word “daily”. Jesus is telling me to talk to the Father every single day. And everyday I am asking Him and trusting Him for the provision of my needs. This simple act reminds me how much I need Him. It leads me to gratitude for how much I have been given. It reminds me of my reliance on Him for all things, which include my relationship with Him as His daughter, my place in the Kingdom, my need to be shown His will, and all of my personal needs and desires. He wants us to bring all of it to Him. Every single day.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How can you rely on God for what you need today? Have you asked Him for what you need?
Do you feel you have the liberty to bring these requests to God? Why or why not?
How do you know that your concerns and needs matter to your Father?
How can you rely on God instead of anything material that you might possess? What would that look like?
How could asking God each day to provide for your needs pave the way for inner transformation?