The Lord's Prayerনমুনা

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

Does it strike you as odd that Jesus told his disciples, and in turn us, to pray for daily bread? After a series of heavenly statements, He says that we are to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

Why is Jesus telling us to ask God for bread? What does He mean by this?

According to Pastor David Guzik, early theologians tried to allegorise this. Some thought that bread referred to taking the Lord’s Supper. Others thought that Jesus was referring to Himself as the ‘Bread of Life’. Still others thought that it spoke of the Word of God as our daily bread. They thought these things because they couldn’t imagine that Jesus would talk about an everyday thing like bread in such a beautiful and majestic prayer.

But He did.

He did speak about bread because He is a God who cares deeply about these everyday things in our lives…And He invites us to pray for them.

Back when Jesus said this to His disciples, bread was the primary form of sustenance. It wasn’t an indulgence for them. It wasn’t simply a snack, but their primary source of energy for the day. It was essential to their lives.

However, when Jesus asked God to give us our daily bread, He wasn’t just talking about physical bread. Bread was a powerful symbol for the ancient Israelites of God’s provision and protection. God had provided manna (‘bread from heaven’) for them in the wilderness in Exodus 16:4-21, and so having constant bread on the table reminded the Israelites of this.

This portion of the Lord’s Prayer reminds us that we are to pray for God’s provision in our lives every single day.

I love that on a bigger scale, this reminds us that God wants to give us what we need every single day! After all, these are prayers that God will answer… Jesus wouldn’t tell us to pray for something that God couldn’t fulfil or supply. Philippians 4:19 echoes this principle and says that our God will supply every need according to His riches!

So, my dear friend, what provision do you need from Your heavenly Father today? Is it peace of mind because there is anxiety within you? Is it patience because you feel agitated or frustrated? Is it clarity of mind, or wisdom, or hope?

Whatever you need, ask your heavenly Father for it today. He promises to bless us with our daily bread when we ask for it daily.

Reflection:

What provision do you need from your Father today?

Prayer:

Oh Father,

You are the source of all things. You are my Provider! Today, I marvel at Your glorious riches which You so desire to pour out into my life.

Thank You that I get to ask You for my daily bread. Father, today I really need Your physical provision/peace/clarity of mind/______.

I wait for Your provision today.

In Jesus’ name, amen.