The Lord's Prayer - Part 3 - "our Daily Bread" Series

Dr. Bradford Reaves

Crossway Christian Fellowship

Hagerstown, MD

www.mycrossway.org

This morning we continue in the portion of the Sermon on the Mount, commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer. Some would say it is better called The Disciple’s Prayer, and really, I’m good with that too. What we name it, is less important to me than the content that is in it.

“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread. 12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’] (Matthew 6:9–13 LSB)

The more I study the text of this prayer, the more amazed I become over the weight of each word our Lord said. I have become overwhelmed in the richness of this masterpiece. And so I am approaching these verses with almost a sense of fear over the reverence that I must use in handling these words.

This morning we have such a simple phrase: "Give us this day our daily bread.” This phrase is so simple in words, but the implications of its meaning as we dig deep into them should leave you wanting to lift your hands to God in worship over His love for you and His power. If we understand what we mean when we pray, ‘Give us this day our daily bread,’ and how little we truly trust the King of the Universe for our needs, despite his power, we should repent for our lack of faith in Him.

You may say, ‘I get it; God somehow provides for all I have and need.’ But friends, that’s just surface-level faith. When you begin to consider the level of provision God has placed in our world - the way He created the earth to sustain us, how he puts together the seasons, the weather systems, and the blessings of his creation naturally. Then you consider the blessings He provides for us supernaturally. Then on top of all of that, how He calls His people and uses the saints to supply the needs of many, these seven words in this prayer carry with them an enormity of theological weight.

Do you remember when you were a kid, and you would ask for things - like maybe going to camp, or a new baseball glove - and your parents would provide that for you? Like most American kids, we didn’t give it a second thought. Nor did most of us give any idea to how the electric bill got paid, or how the food on the dinner table got there.

However, a time came when we became adults and parents ourselves, and we discovered the realities of how these things came to be for us as children. Some of us realized that our parents labored for everything we received as children, and suddenly, we saw our parents and upbringing in a whole new light, and with a whole new appreciation.

Now you ask yourself, "There are many starving people in the world, why doesn’t God feed them?" There’s a false narrative by globalists that tell us that the world is running out of resources. Our world is overpopulated, and the earth cannot sustain human life. This myth is fueled by globalists at the WEF and Bill Gates, who want to reduce the world population to 500 million people.

The fact of the matter is the entire population of the earth can live in an area the size of Texas, and there are more than enough resources to provide plenty for humanity. The problem is corrupt governments and leaders, not space for farming. As one scientist said, the world has overpopulated cities, not overcrowded countries. In fact, according to 2021 census data, every continent (except Africa) expects to see a decline in population over the next 100 years, not growth.

Moreover, there is plenty of acreage and room for agriculture and farming to feed the entire world’s population. According to the organization, “Food First,” Abundance, not scarcity, best describes the world’s food supply. Even though the global population more than doubled between 1961 and 2013, the world produces around 50 percent more food for each of us today—of which we now waste about a third. Even after diverting roughly half of the world’s grain and most soy protein to animal feed and non-food uses, the world still produces enough to provide every human being with nearly 2,900 calories daily. Our global calorie supply is ample. (https://archive.foodfirst.org/publication/world-hunger-ten-myths/)

Take America, for example. The United States is a major player in the global trade of agricultural products. In 2021, exports of agricultural products were worth some 172 billion U.S. dollars. The major crop of the US is Corn, yet 40% of all corn harvested goes to produce ethanol for cars.