Bread For The Day

This part of the Lord's Prayer seems so simple. It is about bread....that basic food that all of us eat almost every day of our lives. But this part of the prayer is shattering if we look at it very long.   I am reminded of the time when Bishop Daniel T. Niles of South India came to America and was preaching at a rather large Church in the Eastern United States. After the sermon, as he greeted people at the door, one lady came up to him and said, "Dr. Niles, I really enjoyed that sermon." Niles, a rather short man, stood as tall as he could, looked her in the eye and said, "I did not intend you to enjoy it." Life is not so much about enjoyment as it is about doing the will of God. As I have pondered this passage and mulled it over in my mind I have been disturbed and convicted by the Spirit of the Lord.

This passage is more than a sentence about bread. It is a sentence about the very nature of our being as Christians. This part on bread has to be seen in light of the beginning of the prayer....

Our Father, Who is in Heaven

Hallowed by Your Name

Your Kingdom Come,

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

We must remember that it is Jesus praying and Who is teaching us to pray. Jesus, whose Father is in Heaven unites us with our Father, too. Jesus, Who says again and again to the disciples I have come here to do the will of Him who sent me, and Who at the end of His life was able to say to His Father, "I have done everything You asked me to do." This is how Jesus is teaching us to pray.....to be so caught up in God that the only thing that matters is that His will is done in our lives and in the world. The point is that there are two plural pronouns in this short request. Give US this day OUR daily bread. It is all about us not about me. As Christians we can't pray Lord, bless me.

This is counter to what our culture teaches us. The Christian life is counter culture. It is not about getting more for ourselves. It is about doing God's will. It is about God's Kingdom and doing God's will. The reason to have bread is to sustain life to do His will. It is not about getting more.

We are to pray for enough bread for the day. The meaning is a soldier's ration for the day. The children of Israel were instructed to daily collect the quail for the evening meal and the manna in the morning for the day, and only what they needed for the day...otherwise it would spoil and get maggots in it.

All we need is bread for the day. Jesus tells us that the Father knows our needs before we ask Him. He tells us not to fret about tomorrow. He feeds the birds. He knows how to take care of us, and He will. We are dependent on God. It is all about God and His will, not about us.

Doing God's will is what is important. He will take care of everything else.