January 26
“Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11)
Bread, in the Bible, is uniquely connected with life and daily living. It is symbolic of life – and sustaining life.
When Jesus was in the wilderness, the first thing He was tempted to do was to turn stones into… bread. The devil came and declared the obvious: “Man, you’re dying. Turn these stones into bread… and live!” Even in His severe hunger, Jesus responded to the temptation by drawing upon the wisdom and truth of the Scriptures: “Man shall not live by bread alone – but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matt. 4:4; see Dt. 8:3) Sustenance. Life. Living… come by the true bread which feeds and sustains us… God’s Word. And God’s actions on our behalf, in accord with His Word to us.
In the record of John, Jesus connected Himself with this concept of bread and living. He told those who were following Him: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry…” (John 6:35) Jesus went one step further… “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.” (John 6:51) True life and living (and eternal life) is tied to… bread. To Jesus.
But perhaps our greatest help in understanding “our daily bread” comes from the Old Testament. You know the story… God rescues His people out of Egyptian slavery and brings them across the Red Sea to take them to the promised land. On the way, they figure out that they don’t have enough food to sustain them on their journey. They cry out to God (a good thing) and God responds with miraculous provision. Every morning, God sends “manna” to care for the dietary needs of His people.
But here’s the main point… The people were all required to go out and gather the manna for that day (as much or as little as they wanted) but the shelf-life of manna was one day! It would not keep overnight (except on the Sabbath!). So the cry to God for sustenance, for life, for survival, for abundance and satisfaction was centered in “give us this day our daily bread!”
The same applies to us as New Covenant wanderers (headed for the promised land of heaven). God is the Source of what we need to live, to survive… to thrive. He is the One Who takes care of us, Who meets our needs – by miracle if necessary.
The cry “give us our daily bread” is the daily recognition that God is our God and we are trusting Him to meet the specific needs of each of our days.
This is something we do daily. God’s mercies (and His provision) are new every morning. Each and every day is an opportunity to see God do what He desires to do in providing for us (and if we mess up… tomorrow is a new start, a new day).
Of course, we realize that God knows what we need even before we ask Him (see Mt. 6:8). But we are required to ask. Not because He doesn’t love us enough to provide without asking Him – but because He seeks for us to realize just how dependent we are upon Him and His provisions for our daily lives. That’s what faith is all about!
At the heart of true prayer is the recognition that God is our Sole Provider for ALL that we need in this life – even in the smallest of things…
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