LEARNING DAILY

 

Matthew 6:11, “Give us this day our daily bread.”  Jesus

 

So far Jesus has told us to praise God for who He is and to live by His kingdom rules.  Now, He tells its time to ask.  The next part of the Lord’s Prayer is concerned about three requests 1) give us our daily bread, 2) forgive us our debts, and 3) lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  In a very short prayer, Jesus has covered every aspect in the life of the Believer. Our body is remembered, our soul is remembered, and our spirit is remembered (Martin Lloyd-Jones).  The world today thinks and plans for the things that concern the body and man’s existence.  Jesus is making it clear that there is more to be concerned with; He makes it clear that there are spiritual needs we must pray about as well.

 

By instructing us to pray for our daily needs, Jesus reminds us we are to depend totally upon God for our daily material needs.  What does “daily bread” mean?  At the very least it means “Give us this day what is necessary for us”.  We are to ask for that which is sufficient or what is necessary each day.  Bread is known as the staff of life, but this part of the prayer is not just concerned with food.  It is meant to cover all our material needs, everything that is necessary for the life of man in this world.

 

Think back to the previous verse – about God’s will being done on the earth as it is in heaven.  There is a wonderful connection between this verse and this request for our daily bread.  Martin Lloyd-Jones wrote this, “Consider that the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, the God who is forming His eternal kingdom and will usher it in at the end is the same God who is prepared to consider your need and my need down to the smallest detail in this matter of daily bread.”  Don’t read any further until you consider that thought and grasp what it means.

 

Have you ever considered what would happen if God did not provide in this way?  The answer has to be we would be in trouble.  We all have witnessed empty grocery shelves during this pandemic.  People panicked and stocked up.  Can you imagine the panic if the farm land dried up and meat was not available?  What about greater unemployment because no jobs were available?  Do you get the picture? God is the One who ultimately feeds the mouths of all mankind.  It really doesn’t matter where the mouth is; if it gets filled, God is the One who put the food there.  Psalm 107:9 tells us, “For He (God) satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.”  The Lord is and always will be the Provider, the Sustainer, the One who satisfies the thirsty soul.  The only reason all of us do not die of starvation is because God is good and provides us with the food we need.  It is good to give thanks before we eat. Too often it is done out of routine and done in a flippant manner. 

 

You might be wondering if this needs to be done every day.  It seems to me to do so keeps us humble and helps us from valuing material things.  God does want us to ask; the value of prayer keeps us in tough with God.  It is not a matter of begging; it is simply reminding ourselves who supplies our daily needs and being thankful for it.  This prayer presumes we pray every day.   I would not like it if the only time my daughters spoke to me was when their supplies ran out and then they came to me for help.  I don’t believe God is any different!   Again, I am amazed that the God of the universe, who needs nothing, who is dependent on no one wants to hear from me.  Maybe that’s why He does not give us “everything” all at once.  He knows we would not need to ask Him again.

 

I do not advise you to jump right into verse 11 when you pray.  Do not begin your prayer time telling God everything you need.  Jesus is teaching us a sequence for prayer. Give Him praise and adoration, recognizing who He is first.  Learning to depend on God’s unlimited power rather than your own efforts will draw you closer to Him.  God can be counted on to provide what we need, but we must develop a habit of depending on Him everyday rather than trying to make it happen on our own. 

 

 

 

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