“Praying for Daily Bread”
Text: Matthew 6: 1 - 11
1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread.
1. Pray Anyway
You can’t pray too much! You can’t pray too often! You can’t pray too long! You can’t pray too hard! We have to keep the text in it’s context. Before the scripture talked about vain repetitions to make prayers longer, it talked about praying to be seen in public. It talked about praying to impress people. The motive makes the difference. There is no thing wrong with long prayer. Jesus asked Peter in Matthew 26:40, could you not watch with me for one hour. During that one hour that they were to be watching, Jesus was praying. There’s nothing wrong with long prayer. In Act 3:1, it says Peter and John went up to the temple at the hour of prayer. We ought to be able to pray for an hour. There’s nothing wrong with long prayer if you are praying for results. The hypocrite prays for rewards; to be seen; to have the glory of men; to have people say “He sure can pray!” I don’t need the rewards. I need some results. I’m not praying to impress people. I’m praying to talk to God. And what we can see from the text is even though He already knows what I need, I need to pray anyway. No matter what the situation is, pray anyway. If you think its something you can handle on your own, pray anyway. If it seems like its too late, pray anyway. If it seems impossible and improbable, pray anyway. You can’t pray too much! You can pray too little.
1Sa 12:23
Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way:
It’s called the sin of prayerlessness. You may not be prayerless but if you pray less than you should then devils that should be bound are still on the loose. Angels that should be loosed are still waiting in heaven to be released. It is a sin to pray less than you should so even if you’ve already prayed about it, pray anyway. Pray and say “I thank you, Lord, that you are the Amen. That thing I pray for is already done. That thing I prayed about, You’ve already taken care of it. I just wanted to thank you again, and again, and again, and again. No matter what, pray anyway.
2Co 9:10 - Show Context
Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)
In the model prayer Jesus says when you pray say give us this day our daily bread. 2 Cor 9:10 says if you are a sower, then God will give seed to the sower and bread for your food. But pray for it anyway. No matter what you do. What you do is not enough to earn what God gives you. Yes, He said He would give it. But pray for it anyway. Ask Him for it anyway. Thank it for Him anyway. There is a book entitled Everything I need to know I learned in kindergarten. The author said he learned to say “please” and “thank you” in kindergarten. I know He promised He would give His angels charge over us to keep us, guard us and protect us. I know He promised He would supply all our need. I know promised by Jesus Christ strips we are healed. But what’s wrong with “please” and “thank you”. Pray for it anyway. You didn’t earn it. You ought to ask for it. Don’t take the Lord for granted and take what He has without talking to Him. The least you can do it say “please” and “thank you”. Your taking it for granted may be why you’re not getting it. James 4:2 says you have not because you ask not. Even if God has already promised to you, ask for it anyway.
2. Pray Everyday
Lu 11:3 - Show Context
Give us day by day our daily bread.
Its called daily bread. If it is daily bread, then I must need it everyday. My bible says, I have not because I ask not. If I’m in lack, I must not be asking for my daily bread. If I’m in need, I must not be asking for my daily bread. My bible says I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging for bread. If I’m begging for bread, I must not be asking for my daily bread, daily. Pray for it Everyday. Sometimes we complain about it and think that’s praying. Sometimes we just worry about it all day long and think we have prayed. But if I don’t have my daily bread, I must not be praying for it everyday. If our church needs a move of God we need to pray for it everyday. If our family needs deliverance, we need to pray for it everyday. If our city is vexed, oppressed, and demon-possessed and we need an innumerable company of angels to come in and take over, we need to pray for it everyday. We can’t pray too long. We can’t pray too hard. We can’t pray to often. We can’t live on yesterday’s mercy. We can’t live on yesterday’s grace. We can’t live on yesterday’s faith. Hebrews 11:1 says Now faith is the substance of things hoped for. If it is not Now faith, its not faith. We need to believe God everyday. We need to pray for daily bread everyday. Much like the children of Isreal had to believe God daily for the manna that fell from heaven in the wilderness, we have to believe God daily. Give us day by day our daily bread. I’m not praying for something to happen next week, I’m praying for something to happen today. And I’m praying for it everyday. I can’t wait for it for another year, I’m praying for something to happen today. And I’m praying for it everyday. Lord, I need you to show up suddenly and do it for me today. And I’m praying for it everyday. Give us day by day our daily bread. Pray anyway, even though the Father already knows what you have need of. Pray anyway, even though it has already been promised to you. And Pray everyday because it is not enough to have had faith. You have to have faith everyday and pray everyday for daily bread.
