"After this manner, therefore, pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen."
Matthew 6:9-13
Part 4
Yesterday: We Learned to Pray for God’s Kingdom and His Will to be Done
“Thy kingdom come.”
“Thy will be done in earth.”
“As it is in heaven.”
When we pray for God’s Kingdom to come and His Will to be done, we pray for His return.
Today: We Learn to Pray for God to Meet Our Daily Needs
(Matthew 6:11)
“Give us this day our daily bread.”
What exciting and essential words these are coming from our Lord. When the question arises, “Does Jesus Care about me?” Here is the answer; Yes, He died to save your soul! No greater love could ever be shown to us than His act of redeeming us. And in His prayer, we see that He even cares about our personal physical needs that must be met daily. This excellent model prayer takes us into God’s glorious throne room. It teaches us that even our everyday needs are not too petty to be brought before His throne! Without question, Jesus cares about our day-to-day needs!
“The people of rural Galilee were poor and oppressed, and resources such as food were scarce. This prayer reflects the real needs of people living in difficult times”[1] (FSB).
“Give us this day the bread which this day’s necessities require”[2] (JFB).
“Like the Israelites in the desert depending on God for manna, disciples should depend on God for the daily provision of bread”[3] (Keener, Matthew, 221).
God is wise and loving. He knows what and how much we need.
“Petition for personal needs such as daily food is also to be a part of prayer. “Daily” … means “sufficient for today”[4] (BKC).
Why didn’t the Lord say to pray for “our weekly bread?” or even “our monthly bread?” He could quickly provide that for us! “He owns the cattle on a thousand hills…” as the old Gospel song goes. But the fact that He doesn’t provide our “bread” this way points us to the simple truth that this isn’t His will for us. He has a good reason for providing our needs a day at a time.
“Daily bread was the amount of bread necessary to survive for a day… Jesus wanted his disciples to live in a state of constant dependence on God and his provision”[5] (CSB).
Do you remember the wise words of “Agur, the son of Jakeh?” Here they are:
“Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain” (Proverbs 30:8-9).
The Lord knows our human propensities all too well. Those who never seem to have enough are tempted to blame God for their miseries. And those who have plenty tend to forget about where their groceries have come from. We think it’s all our doing. I went to work, earned money, brought home my paycheck, and bought my own food! Oh really? Who gave you that job? Who gave you the health and strength to be able to work? You see, we have things backward. We need to understand three biblical ideas.
a. I own nothing.
b. God owns everything.
c. God wants me to take care of a portion of His belongings while I am here on this earth. It’s called “being a good steward.”
Since everything belongs to God, this means everything we have has come from Him. He gives us what we need to live on His earth. This also means that we are dependent upon God every day for our needs for that day. Life is all about God’s Sovereignty. The lost man despises that concept! It cuts across the grain of his ideas about himself. He argues that he’s done everything for himself apart from anyone else. But he is fatally mistaken. He has left God entirely out of the picture.
We believers know and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a tremendous blessing for us to live dependent upon Him for “our daily bread.”
“There is freedom in this dependence on God—’The prayer for physical sustenance frees disciples from becoming mired in futile worry over their subsistence (Matt 13:22) and frees them for the task of seeking first the kingdom of heaven (Matt 6:33)’[6] (Garland, ‘The Lord’s Prayer,’ 222).”
We, believers, are not lazy, and we work diligently, but our trust is in our God to meet our needs. Tomorrow we will look at God’s forgiveness and our forgiveness of others. Please join us then.
Quote:
He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions, He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, He multiplies peace.
His love has no limits; His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.[7]
[1] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Mt 6:9–13). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press. Matthew 6:11.
[2] Jamison, Fausset, and Brown. Jamison-Fausset-Brown’s Commentary, the electronic version in eSword. Matthew 6:11.
[3] Kuo, J. C. (2016). Lord’s Prayer. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[4] Barbieri, L. A., Jr. (1985). Matthew. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 32). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[5] Stein, R. H. (2017). Differences in the Gospels. In E. A. Blum & T. Wax (Eds.), CSB Study Bible: Notes (pp. 1509–1510). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Kuo, J. C. (2016). Ibid.
[7] These are the first and fourth stanzas of “He Giveth More Grace” by Annie Johnson Flint (1866-1932). Tune: HE GIVETH MORE GRACE. © 1941. Renewed 1969 by Lillenas Publishing Co.