Give us this day our daily bread
“This, then, is how you should pray: ” ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. – Matthew 6:9-13
How many of us have said the Lord’s Prayer? Probably almost everyone. However, my experience is that many times we repeat this prayer missing the real meaning of it.
For this reason I have been trying to incorporate this prayer in my devotional time, but using a different approach; not repeating the words as impersonal phrases, but rather, making each part of this prayer a living and personal communication with my Creator. A part of this prayer that has impacted me the most is the verse 11
Give us today our daily bread
In common words this would be like saying “provide my basic needs for the day.” Normally we understand this phrase as a request to God to provide our needs. But this part of the prayer has more profound meaning than that.
First, when we say “give us…our daily bread” we are confessing that we recognize that God is our supplier. We trust that above our work and effort God is in control of our needs.
Second, when we say “today our daily…” we are basically saying “provide today my needs for the day.” This is a contradictory concept in the modern world. The truth is that the norm is that we work placing our mind (and often worrying) to meet the need for today, tomorrow, the next week, the next year, and even the need we will have in 20 years. We must continue to work hard as long as we can, but we must beware of coming to think that only through our efforts we will ensure our future.
Jesus wanted with this prayer to teach us to make a statement of faith, telling God “I am willing to live each day trusting in you and not me.”
No. It is not easy to pray this way. It is not easy to tell God “do what you want me to do, and I will continue trusting in you.” It’s not easy giving up the control we think we have. It is not easy to walk by faith.
Oh God, help me to understand the truth of this beautiful prayer in my life. Free my mind so I can understand the blessing of what it means to trust in you and live by faith. Help me to understand that what I can do for myself does not mean that I have control, but that I am being blessed by you. I want to be able to pray with my heart saying “provide me only what I need today and nothing else, tomorrow I will keep trusting you.”
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