“Give us this day our daily bread.”
Matthew 6:11 NASB1995
We are very familiar with this verse. This is a verse that is routinely included in daily prayers of many followers of Christ. Within the LORD’s prayer, this is the first verse of supplication. Yet, embedded in this simple supplication is the guidepost for many aspects of our lives. Let’s uncover three important principles embedded in this supplication of “give us this day our daily bread.”
True Source
This is an amazing prayer. Jesus, being equal and existed in the form of almighty God, laid out His humble request of asking for basic necessity of daily bread, from His heavenly Father. Let this sink in for a little bit.
Jesus had no need to lay out His daily bread request to the Father. Jesus multiplied a few loaf of bread and fish enough to feed 5,000+ people.
Jesus did this to demonstrate a very important point to His disciples. The true source of every thing is the Father. If the absolute basic necessity required for survival (which was expressed as “daily bread”) comes from the Father in Heaven, then wouldn’t everything else that is considered beyond the basic necessity would have to come from God as well?
Embedded in this prayer is the acknowledgement of God the Father as a true source of everything.
Let us acknowledge the God the Father as the true source of our daily bread. However competent you are or competent you may feel, let’s acknowledge that daily, the most fundamental unit for human’s physical survival, comes from the heavenly Father.
Contentment
Give us today our daily bread shows Jesus asked for people’s needs not people’s wants. A realm of necessity and a realm of enjoying the surplus are different.
God is not necessarily against endowing His people with surplus blessings, those that are beyond the necessity. However, at the same time, God knows that too much surplus blessing tends to corrupt the condition of the heart to serve money instead of the LORD.
Therefore, let’s pray for our daily bread with the focus on the need. Let the surplus blessing be in the realm of God’s decision. If God were to shower us with surplus blessings (whether be wealth, occupational title, relation, family, etc.), then let us also pray that our heart and mind would be mature enough to stay within the fear of the LORD not to be carried away.
Community
Give US OUR daily bread. Jesus did not say, “Give me my daily bread.” Plural form of us is to be used for all the followers of Christ in His prayer the Father in Heaven.
Implicitly included in this prayer is the importance of community. We ask for our daily bread, not just for me, but for us.
God commanded the Israelites not to neglect the weak and poor of society. Specifically, God commanded the first and second generation Israelites to ensure that in the harvest time, they should not reap every corner of the field, but to leave gleanings for the widows, orphans, and aliens (Leviticus 19:9-10, Deuteronomy 24:9). God desired to provide bread to all, and especially for the needy. God wanted those who were blessed with abundant wealth to share with others.
Let this be one of the prayer lines that forge our worldview and conduct of everyday living.
Source: Korean Central Presbyterian Church Young Adult Service on June 13, 20210
Give Life 