"Whenever you pray, say… Give us each day our daily bread." (Luke 11:2a, 3 CSB)
We've now reached the middle of the 5 phrases (or asks). This is number 3 - it has 2 to its left and 2 to its right. As I have been praying this, it has also become the heart of my prayer. Each phrase, on various days, have been requests for God to act, receive glory, honor, praise, or provide protection; but this particular ask seems to be the consistent exclamation of my heart along with one or more of the other phrases. "Give me my daily bread." I'm delighted to share something of how this prayer has taken shape in me as God has led me to pray Scripture back to Him.
Daily Bread - A Cry of Dependence
We are human beings and as such we are spiritual AND physical. God breathed into man and man became a living being (Genesis 2:7). Even in the new creation, we will have physical bodies. Christianity is not platonism. While life is more than food (Luke 12:23) God is definitely concerned with the physical and we should seek our daily provision from Him. Sometimes I wonder if we have become pharisaical in our praying and we cease to ask for physical needs, either because we have demonized the physical part of God's creation or because we have grown accustomed to living like atheists when it comes to the easily attainable everyday needs. We don't ask God for our daily bread because we believe we don't need God to obtain it. The very food we just asked the waitress to take back because it wasn't cooked to order is the meal we thanked God for moments before. Before committing to pray this model prayer for at least a week, I didn't pray for daily provision because I am surrounded by abundance.
I am also living my life "on schedule". I have a pay cadence - every two weeks I get a check. As I have been praying this, God has shown me how I have not only taken what I have for granted, but also what I will have. Part of this prayer of "Give me my daily bread" is my plea for God to help me each day as I work to earn the paycheck. The favor I have in those I report to, the wisdom I have to handle situations that arise, the ability to solve complex issues - it all flows freely from His hand. If He were to choose to withhold even an ounce of that, all could be taken away. If God so desired, I would quickly be eating grass alongside Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:28-33). God has graciously used this prayer to impress on my heart the realization that the only reason I have "bi-weekly" bread is because He daily provides me the ability to earn it. In this way, there is also an expression of gratitude in the ask.
There is also a deeper, yet directly related, plea I have begun to ask when I pray "Give us each day our daily bread." In Proverbs, Agur son of Jakeh makes a petition that is similar in nature to the daily bread phrase of the model prayer: "Give me neither poverty nor wealth; feed me with the food I need. Otherwise, I might have too much and deny you, saying, 'Who is the LORD?' or I might have nothing and steal, profaning the name of my God." (Proverbs 30:8-9) Agur's concern wasn't things. It wasn't being hungry or having too much, it was God. The prayer for God to provide daily bread is a prayer for sustained dependence. We could pray for more than just today's bread, and God is more than able to provide it. When God provided manna for Israel during their 40 years of wilderness wanderings, he provided enough for the current day as well as the Sabbath once a week (Exodus 16). Providing in advance takes no more effort on God's part than does a just-enough provision. The prayer for daily bread is an intentional plea for God to keep me dependent on Him. It is an ask for Him to give me just enough to keep me coming back to Him.
He is My Bread
I had heard so many past uses of this prayer to emphasize daily Bible reading, linking it to "Man must not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) This is true, and I am in no way desiring to minimize the importance of spending time in God's word on a daily basis. However, as I have been praying this to my Father, He has shaped my heart's cry to be a plea for a sustained attitude of dependence on Him. Jesus is the Bread of Life, and it is Jesus that I long for. I ask for physical provision on a daily basis only to the point that through it I get more of Jesus. Like Agur, I only want what sufficiently points me to The Provider - nothing more, nothing less. My daily time in God's word begins with a plea for Him to give me my daily bread. I do not wish to presumptuously open His word and think that I can consume it at will. I ask Him to speak to me through it or else the atheistic presumption that I am my own provider can easily creep in to the time I spend in Scripture - I imagine I don't need God to provide because somehow, I got this.
"Give us each day our daily bread." Dear, Father. I just want more of You today. I know that whatever skills I have comes from you. Whatever safety I experience comes from You. Whatever money is at my disposal is from Your hand. Today I ask that You provide for my physical needs as you have created to have a physical. I seek these things from You and ask that You carve this prayer into my very being so that I return tomorrow. I ask that You give me physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually what I need for the moment I need it. In asking this, I am asking for You, Father. To know You. To receive from Your hand only and exactly what will give me more of You. I am asking for Your grace to keep my heart fixed on You. To trust that, whether today's portion is heavy or lean, You always give liberally of Yourself so that the portion of bread given is the precise amount to maximize my portion of You. May Your kingdom continue to come in me as you keep me dependent upon You. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Comments