Wednesday night prayer meeting 8/19/2009
Give us this day our daily bread- Matthew 6:11
Introduction:
A. This petition seems so earthy. It seems so tied to human needs that it seems out of place. Is anything too small and earthy for God? After all, Jesus Christ lived here.
B. Even a spiritually mature man has desires and needs. This petition is an expression of our dependence on God. It is an honest expression of our wants and needs.
E. This petition gets our heads out of the heavens and gets them back to earth.
Thesis: Tonight we are going to note 4 things about this petition.
For instances:
1. The Prayer for Bread.
A. Most of the time we are concerned about earthly wants, needs and desires. This is unchristian. We are to be focused on the eternal. (2 Cor 4:18 NIV) So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
B. There are a few (not many in our day) who over spiritualize everything. They say that human desires and needs are sinful. Jesus Christ was both God and man. We find Jesus in (Mat 4:2 NIV) After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. Was this sin? No, it tells us he was human. He had to eat.
C. Food (Bread) is a need that must be satisfied. To pray that our desires be satisfied is not sinful, it is normal and healthy and also spiritual. Now mankind takes those desires and satisfies them in ungodly ways but to have these desires makes us human. Need to pray that we will satisfy our desires in God pleasing ways.
D. Need to just pray for holiness and to be surrendered to God’s will. This is good but our prayers should include all that we desire, all that we need.
E. If we cannot ask God for something, then we should not seek it.
F. (John 16:24 NIV) Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
G. This prayer for our basic needs to be met is to recognize that God is the Giver of all good things. (Psa 104:28 NIV) When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things.
I. Jesus gave thanks to God the Father for his food. (Luke 24:30 NIV) When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. (Luke 24:31 NIV) Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.
J. We have a bad habit of putting God as far away from our daily lives as we can!
K. Father said a prayer before the meal and then began complaining about the food. A little boy, “Didn’t we thank God for this?”
K. This petition is also asking God to bless our labor that provided the means to get the bread. If we cannot ask God to bless our work then should we be doing that work?
L. Bart Simpson’s prayer- Thank you God for nothing. (Deu 8:18 NIV) But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
2. All mankind shares in this prayer.
A. What are the physical needs of all human beings?
1. Food
a. It is estimated that 1 billion people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition. (2003)
b. About 24,000 people die every day in the world from hunger and hunger related causes (2003)
c. 12 million children in the US are hungry or unsure of where their next meal will come from (2003). Many children in this parish are blessed to have free meals at public schools. For some of them that is the only meal they will get.
2. Clothing
a. In this country we can get clothing. No excuse for not being clothed.
b. In other countries it is not this way. Some children run the streets naked, not because they want to but because their parents cannot afford clothing.
c. Several years ago, in this country, children did not have shoes in the summer time because their parents could not afford them.
d. Need clothing for dignity, need clothing to protect from the elements, and need clothing for warmth.
3. Shelter
a. In foreign countries this is a serious problem. Cardboard houses, etc.
b. Growing homeless problem in this country. Why are they homeless? No job and lose everything. Chemical dependency. Mental illness. Domestic violence.
c. A big problem in this country is that many building contractors do not want to build low cost homes. Big problem in major US cities.
d. Habitat for Humanity
B. Jesus knew these needs very well. (Luke 9:58 NIV) Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
C. Mankind is like a pack of dogs where a big juicy steak is thrown into the middle of.
D. We all have needs and we all pray this prayer. We all should seek to help each other.
E. I am not here to deal with economics. However, Capitalism without Christianity is a nightmare. Capitalism is the best economic system but without moral restraints and without looking out for the good of everyone involved it becomes a dog eat dog world.
F. (Acts 4:32 NIV) All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.
H. We are not talking about communism. That is forced sharing. No, we are talking about people looking out for the good of others from the idea of a big family.
I. (Prov 3:27 NIV) Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.
J. (Luke 16:19 NIV) “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. (Luke 16:20 NIV) At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores (Luke 16:21 NIV) and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
K. (Mat 25:40 NIV) “The King will reply, ’I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
III. The prayer for our bread today (Give us this day)
A. God give us what we need today.
C. Many things about tomorrow, I don’t seem to understand, but I know who holds tomorrow and I know who holds my hand.
D. (Mat 6:31 NIV) So do not worry, saying, ’What shall we eat?’ or ’What shall we drink?’ or ’What shall we wear?’(Mat 6:32 NIV) For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. (Mat 6:33 NIV) But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Mat 6:34 NIV) Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
E. (Psa 37:25 NIV) I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.
F. Does this mean that there will never be times when we are in need and we will not have to ask for help? No, but those times should be few and far between. Also, when we are blessed abundantly we should give. (2 Cor 8:13 NIV) Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality.(2 Cor 8:14 NIV) At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, (2 Cor 8:15 NIV) as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much and he who gathered little did not have too little."
IV. The prayer for bread suited to our needs. Our daily bread
A. This all seems to be talking about a hand to mouth mentality. Paycheck to paycheck!
B. This is a problem today in our country. (Rom 13:8 NIV) Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.
C. When we are financially responsible and wise stewards then we can give.
D. Give us this day our daily bread. This sounds like redundancy. Really a more accurate statement of this is, “Sufficient for our subsistence”.
E. We need to limit our necessities. What we want and what we need are two different things. We need to ask God for what we need and not what we want.
F. A luxury lifestyle looks strange when put up against this petition.
G. My riches consist not in the abundance of my possessions, but in the fewness of my wants. (Phil 4:11 NIV) I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.(Phil 4:12 NIV) 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. (Phil 4:13 NIV) I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
H. (1 Tim 6:8 NIV) But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
Conclusion:
What are some ways that the Lord has brought this to pass in your life? What are some stories of how the Lord has provided for you?
