"Give us this day our daily bread."
Here we have the first of three petitions relating to our personal needs. While a good amount of our prayer time ought to involve worship, it also involves asking for specific needs to be met. James said specifically, "ye have not, because ye ask not" (James 4:2).
I. "GIVE" EXPRESSES DEPENDENCY
A. We are dependant upon God for everything.
B. 1 Chronicles 29:11-14
C. Psalm 20:10-12
D. Proverbs 8:18
E. Ecclesiastes 5:19
F. Romans 11:36
II. "THIS DAY" ELIMINATES ANXIETY
A. There is no need for us to be anxious about tomorrow. Our concerns should be for today. We are to live from day to day. This does mean that we do not make plans for the future, but we must keep in mind that our plans for tomorrow may or may not come to pass depending upon the will of the Lord for our lives.
B. Psalm 62:8
C. Matthew 6:34
D. 1 Peter 5:7
E. Our prayer should be for enough grace, enough strength, enough courage, enough of everything we need to get by today. Then tomorrow our prayer starts all over again for that day’s needs.
III. "DAILY" ENCOURAGES REGULARITY
A. Following the Lord’s model for prayer will lead us to pray every day.
B. Spiritually, we cannot live today off of yesterday’s bread. It is sad that many of God’s people are trying to live today on the experiences of years gone by. Their soul is dry and it has been years since they have experienced a fresh touch of God’s grace upon their soul.
C. When we learn to pray for our needs on a daily basis, we can expect to meet with God anew and afresh everyday.
IV. "BREAD" EMPHASIZES SUFFICIENCY
A. When we pray for our daily "bread", we are asking God to meet our needs, to provide us with the necessities of life.
B. Psalm 34:10
C. Proverbs 30:8-9
D. Philippians 4:11
E. 1 Timothy 6:6-8
F. If God should choose to bless us extravagantly so be it, but if not, let us be content with our daily bread.
V. "GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD" ESTABLISHES RESPONSIBILITY
A. As His children, it is our responsibility to ask our heavenly Father for the things we have need of.
B. Matthew 7:7-8
C. John 16:24
D. James 4:2-3
