1 Our Daily Bread
Lord’s Prayer series, Week 7
Matthew 6:11
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t one of our favorite topics of conversation, food? Who has the best pizza? Mineo’s? Aiello’s? Vincent’s?
We talk about our favorite spaghetti sauce recipes and compare ingredients for marinades and we love to talk about our favorite restaurants.
And when it comes to eating dinner, do you let your food comingle or do you do it the right way and not let any of 1 thing touch anything else? Those compartmentalized plates were the best thing that’s ever been invented!
How about the order of how you eat things? A bite or two of each thing as you make your way around the plate or do you eat one thing at a time before moving on to the next?
All of us have kitchen stories and dinnertime rules, like this one dad who had 9 sons. The rule of the kitchen was simple. Dad gets the last piece of chicken and if he doesn’t want it, then the fastest fork wins.
One night, as all 10 eyed the last piece on the plate, a thunderstorm caused the power to go out. There was a scream in the dark, and when the lights came back on, the dad’s hand was on the platter with 9 forks sticking in it.
Everybody has kitchen stories because everybody has a history in the kitchen regardless if you’re cooking, eating, or cleaning up.
For the past several weeks we’ve been taking a look at the model prayer of Jesus. And so far, it’s kind of like an archaeological dig. The more we explore, the more we’ve found to uncover.
We started with how God embraces us as his children and is building heaven to house us for all eternity. And as we’ve progressed, we see how God reveals himself through the model prayer of Jesus, which elicits our praise and reverence, and it changes the way we look at the world around us. No longer do we view the world through selfish lenses. We’re learning to look at things the way God sees them. So, then, our will becomes secondary to his.
Now as Jesus moves on, the model prayer’s “next 3 petitions encompass all of the concerns of our life. ’This daily bread’ addresses the present. ‘Forgive our sins’ addresses the past. ‘Lead us not into temptation’ speaks to the future.” (Max Lucado, Great House of God, pg. 100)
“Our daily bread,” is a part of the prayer that asks for God’s provision.
2 I. THE PRAYER FOR GOD’S PROVISION
“Give us this day our daily bread.”
In this prayer for daily “bread,” bread stands for more than just food. It stands for all of our physical needs. “Martin Luther defined bread as ‘Everything necessary for the preservation of this life, including food, a healthy body, house, home, wife, and children.” (Lucado, pg. 100)
So what Jesus is getting at, is for us to talk to God about the necessities of life.
It suggests our absolute dependence on God for everything. And if you think about it, God made us with needs so that we would have to look to Him to supply them. And he wants to, just like any loving parent wants to, provide for their kids.
To pray this prayer for “our daily bread,” expresses a conviction and a belief that God is able to not only hear our prayers, but meet our needs. He’s been doing it ever since Adam and Eve first appeared and has never stopped.
3 Listen to how Psalm 37 describes it. “Trust in the Lord and do good. Live in the land and feed on truth. Enjoy serving the Lord and he will give you what you want. Depend on the Lord; trust him and he will take care of you. (Psalm 37: 3-4)
So God is committed to taking care of us. “Paul tells us that a man who won’t feed his family is worse that an unbeliever (1Tim. 5:8). How much more will a holy God care for his children?” (Lucado, pg. 100-101)
So we’re not praying to overcome God’s unwillingness or to overcome his reluctance. We’re praying to take hold of God’s willingness to give.
Why? Because he wants us to learn to trust him for what we need. When God provided manna in the wilderness for the Israelites, they were commanded to gather only enough food for each day (Exodus 16:16). If they gathered more than they needed it would spoil overnight (Exodus 16:20).
God wanted them to believe that they must trust Him to provide for their needs every day. And by the same token, He’s committed to providing us with what we need but he also wants us, by faith, to believe it.
And here’s how that looks in our day; dinner may not always be a feast, but I bet we’ve always had food. Maybe we’ve not always had a banquet. Maybe it was getting by with Peanut Butter and Jelly or Bologna sandwiches or relying on the kindness of others. But we’ve always managed to eat.
“Give us today” reminds us that we need daily renewal of patience and faith. We often get stressed out because we try to face tomorrow’s issues today. 4 But Jesus said, “25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 5 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 6 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
7 31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 8 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. Matthew 6:25-34 NLT
So when we look too far down the road, when we get ahead of ourselves, in essence, are we telling God that we aren’t sure that He can provide for us? Just something to think about.
In our country, especially, we’re blessed. And for many of us, “Give us today our daily bread,” has a double meaning. Max Lucado writes: (pg. 101)
“We pray, only to find our prayer already answered! We are like the high school senior who decides to go to college and then learns the cost of tuition. He runs to his father and pleads, ‘I’m sorry to ask so much, Dad, but I have nowhere else to go. I want to go to college and I don’t have a penny.’ The father puts his arms around the son and smiles and says, ‘Don’t worry, son. The day you were born I began saving for your education. I’ve already provided for your tuition.” (pg.101)
“Give us today,” is a prayer we pray because we’re relying on God and we’re trusting that he’ll deliver on his promises.
“Give us today our daily bread,” also expresses our willingness to accept what God supplies. In his book Victorious Praying, Alan Redpath translates the phrase like this: “Give us this day bread suited to our need.” (pg.103) It’s saying, “God, I will gladly trust you to give me whatever I need.”
But along with this being a prayer for provision, “our daily bread,” can also have some other connotations.
When I was younger, BREAD meant money. Who remembers Piano Man? Billy Joel sang, “They’d sit at the bar and put bread in my jar…”
9 Bread can mean different things. And the Lord’s Prayer gives us some other things to think about besides our dinner tables.
“Our daily bread,” is also connected with Communion. The bread on the Lord’s Table is no ordinary bread because of what it represents – the body of Christ which was broken for us.
From Matthew 26, 26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” (v. 26)
Soon after that Acts says that the church,”46 worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, (some translations of the Bible say bread bread) and shared their meals with great joy and generosity”
In his day and age, St. Augustine, in the 5th Century, talked about how the Sacrament of Communion was received daily in some places. It’s a practice in some churches that has survived over the centuries.
But even in Churches where that’s not the practice, the Lord’s Prayer has still been viewed as having to do with Communion. The connection is that we ought to always be in a spirit and attitude of communion with Christ and His Church.
10 Another meaning for BREAD has to do with the Word of God. Jesus said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4
Mary Lathbury wrote the lyrics to this hymn. See if it sounds familiar….
Break thou the bread of life
Dear Lord to me
As thou didst break the loaves
Beside the Sea.
Beyond the sacred page
I seek thee Lord,
My spirit longs for thee
O living Word.
You can make the argument that our daily bread has a lot to do with the word of God.
11 And the last interpretation of BREAD is that it is a reference to Jesus himself. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35
In that sense the prayer becomes a petition that we acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, because he is the bread of life. It means not only believing in Christ for our salvation but on a daily basis, developing a sense of Christ’s daily presence with us.
There is no reason why “Give us today our daily bread,” can’t mean all four things. So when we pray for our “daily bread” we might find ourselves praying at any given time for any one or more of these amazing choices.
Give us today our bread --
· The Sacramental bread of the body of Christ that we find in Communion.
· The Word of God, that will nourish our souls.
· The Bread of Life, who is Jesus himself.
· And, of course, the Bread we need for our tables to nourish our bodies.
Now to take this a step further, it’s one thing to pray for God’s provision. And it’s another to prepare ourselves to receive it.
12 II. THE PRINCIPLES FOR RECEIVING GOD’S PROVISION
So, then, what can we do to help the process along?
13 A. I think Obedience has a lot to do with it. If we want to receive from God all of the blessings he has in store for us, then we must also live within the will of God. And there are several areas in our journey of faith that are essential to help us be obedient to God.
14 1. Fellowship with Christ is a big one, obviously, if we are to be a position to receive anything from the father we are going to have to be in a healthy relationship with Jesus. Jesus told us, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. (John 15:7 NKJV)
15 2. Our Relationship with the Church is another one. (Hebrews 10:24-25, 13:17). It’s much harder to enjoy the favor of God if we are not in a healthy relationship with fellow believers.
The principle is from Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, (25) not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (NKJV)
The same thing is true when it comes to godly leadership. Again, from Hebrews (13:17) “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. (NKJV)
16 3. A third area that can affect how well we receive the daily bread God has for us has to do with the quality of our work habits. God is very explicit when it comes to our attitude about work. Paul said to the Thessalonians to, “…aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, (12) that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.” (1 Thess. 4:11-12 NKJV).
17 4. And I think that the way we give can have an effect on how well we receive God’s blessings. If we’re to be in a position to ask for the daily provisions from the Lord, we must be faithful in our generosity – that is how well we serve God with our time, abilities, and finances.
Romans 12 says, “6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith;7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”
Let’s end today with these thoughts from author, Cathy Haedge, (“Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread”)
"Lord, I don’t think I have ever really worried about daily bread. You have given me an abundance of bread and everything else I need. When I go to the grocery store, I get lost in all the variety and color and sheer numbers. I have given away boxes, a roomful of things to Goodwill. They are things I do not need or no longer want, and still I have more than enough. You have allowed me to have things far in excess of daily bread-of what I truly need to live.
And yet I am still hungry.
Sometimes I fear the things I have. They steal my best time and energy by crying for my attention: ’Buy me! Eat me! Wear me! Upgrade me!’
And so I am hungry, because I am feeding my greed and not my soul.
How much is enough, Lord? How much is too much? What can I live without? I don’t want too little, for fear of becoming bitter and anxious. Nor do I need too much, lest I turn complacent and blind to the needs of others.
Give us this day our daily bread….I need bread to stay alive, but without the Bread of Life I will never truly live.
Teach me contentment, Jesus. Show me a way of true delight in the things of this earth, without mad cravings to own or control. Increase my hunger for You and for the things of Your Spirit.
May I never desire anything-a tasty meal, a beautiful dress, even a cozy home-unless You are in the desire, helping me to be grateful and generous.
O Jesus, give us Yourself!"
And that’s exactly what he did.
So as we transition into our time of Communion, maybe our minds go back not to our favorite pizza place, but to another dinner – one where Jesus is the center of attention and where he took some bread and broke it and gave it to his disciples and said, “Take it and eat it for this is my body which is broken for you.”
Then Jesus took a cup, passed it around and said, Drink this, all of you. This is my blood, God’s new covenant poured out for many people for the forgiveness of sins.
Every week we sit around the Lord’s table and are thankful for his grace, but this week we’re especially grateful for our daily bread.
