Daily Bread

March 7 2010

There were these two boys who lived with their Grandma. As they were about to go to bed, they knelt down first to say their prayers. The older boy started to pray. He prayed about the day he had and about everything he had done. When he finished, the younger boy began his prayer, but he prayed much louder than his brother. He was almost shouting as he prayed for bikes and toys and candy and everything he could think of. When he finished the older brother asked him “Why are you praying so loud? God is not deaf.” The younger boy responded and said ” Yeah, I know, but Grandma is!”

As we continue through this Lenten Season, our Sunday sermons are focused on “Lord, teach us to pray.” We are taking a close look at the Lord’s prayer. So far we have looked at the Introduction and First three petitions. Today we come to the fourth petition or request. Of the seven petitions in this prayer, this is the only one that has to do with physical blessings, material, earthly needs: Give us this day our daily bread. And let’s take a look at what is says in the catechism about this request:

Give us this day our daily bread.

Give us today our daily bread

What does this mean? God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people, but we pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.

What is meant by daily bread? Daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.

All of our earthly needs are summarized in this brief petition. “Daily bread” means everything that we need to support this body and life. And God is concerned about that. He wants us to come to Him about everything. While His primary concern is for our spiritual needs, which He has provided for in Christ, He is not concerned only for our spiritual well-being. He made you as physical beings. He knows your needs, and He promises to provide.

The fact that only one of seven requests has to do with our earthly needs does not imply that our Lord minimizes those needs and desires that fill our daily lives. The Lord knows and provides us with more than enough to sustain us: Food, clothing, home, vocation, loved ones, friends—all gifts of a loving, gracious God. When I pray these words – Give us this day our daily bread – I am reminded of the abundant and bountiful provision of God, how incredibly blessed I am, and the need for me to share those blessings with others.

One problem here is that people seem to think that God should also provide for all of their desires, which is another thing altogether. We know the Scriptures say, “If we have food and clothing, we will be content with that (I Tim. 6:8), but then we think there should be more. We look around and see what others have, and wonder why we don’t have as much. Instead of rejoicing when we see our neighbor prosper, we become jealous. That is why this petition is so important for us to pray sincerely:  give us this day our daily bread. These words remind us that God provides for us and cares for us. He has already given us the most important thing we need: forgiveness of sins and eternal life! He did that by sending Jesus to do what we could not – live a perfect life and then offer that life as the payment for the sins of everyone. On top of that most wonderful and necessary blessing of all, He gives us our daily bread whether we ask for it or not! The point of this part of the Lord’s Prayer is that we recognize God as our Provider and receive His gifts with gratitude.

Proverbs 30:8-9 ‘Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.  Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.”

The way this request is phrased in important. We say give us “this day” or “EACH day.” We are not to be overly concerned about the future because we know that our lives are in God’s hands. Oh sure, we work and plan, but this should always be done with the firm and certain knowledge that God provides for our needs. We should not overly-anxious about the future.

I think the example of the children of Israel in the wilderness ties in to this. (Ex 16:1-21). They were starving, so God sent them manna, the food from heaven. However, there was a condition: they must gather only enough for their daily needs. If they tried to gather too much and to store it up, it went bad. They had to be satisfied with enough for each day. Jesus wants His followers to learn to trust our heavenly Father in a similar fashion, confident that He will meet our needs each day.

Something else is significant in this request. Jesus did not teach us to pray: “Give me my daily bread.” He taught us to pray: “Give us this day our daily bread.”  When offering this petition we have the needs of others, as well as our own needs, in mind.  We know that so many people do not have what they need. We think of the people in Haiti and Chile after the destruction in those nations, but we don’t have to look that far. There is need all around us right here where we live. An unknown poet reminds us that our concern in praying for daily bread should be for more than just ourselves:

You cannot pray the Lord’s Prayer and even once say “I.”

You cannot pray the Lord’s Prayer and even once say “My.”

Nor can you pray the Lord’s Prayer and not pray for one another.

And when you ask for daily bread, you must include your brother.

For others are included … in each and every plea,

From the beginning to the end of it, it doesn’t once say “Me.”

We should offer this petition with then, in the spirit of Galatians 6:9-10 

‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.’

One more observation: It is not wrong for us to ask for more than what we need for our daily needs. We can ask Him for anything and everything. We commit our needs to Him. And that should be done in the spirit of understanding that if He decides to give us daily bread and nothing more, we should be content. We ought to strive for the attitude described by St. Paul:

Phil 4:11-13  I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do everything through him who gives me strength.