Teach Me To PrayMuestra

The Lord’s Prayer: The Fourth Petition

Finally--Jesus invites us to ask for material things. After reorienting our priorities to put God on the throne of our lives, recommitting ourselves to his saving agenda, and vowing obedience to his will, we are ready to talk about physical things. When you pray, say: ‘Give us each day our daily bread' (Luke 11:2,3).

It is a delightful practice to pray when sitting down to eat. It is totally appropriate that we give God credit for so richly and consistently supplying us with not only bread but all our food. Soil, rainfall, seeds, and sunshine all come from him. It is humbling but accurate to see God as the originator of every meal you eat.

“Daily bread” is also a metaphor for everything that you need to have a healthy and productive life. Jesus’ choice of the lowly word "bread" is a reminder that God obligates himself to give you everything he thinks you need, though perhaps not everything you want.

"Daily" is also an allusion to the Israelites’ manna, the miracle bread that appeared every day while they lived in the wilderness after the exodus from Egypt. “Daily bread” reminds us that God generally doesn’t front us our supplies a year in advance. He prefers to dribble it out on an as-needed basis.