Give Us our Daily Bread

Our theme for 2024 is “Possessing the Land”

We are in a summer series on The Lord’s Prayer.

I wanted to take some time to slow down, to focus on a shorter passage of scripture and to really mediate on it.

We want to, not just speak the prayer, but let it speak to us.

So far we have talked about addressing God.

Both coming to Him as our heavenly Father

And also seeing God as He is, holy and transcendent.

We talked about how being part of the Kingdom of God means having an eternal perspective - the bigger picture of reality.

And last week we talked about how our lives and our desires are shaped by God’s will and knowing Him.

The next line is “give us this day our daily bread”

This is not just a prayer we say before meals.

Last week we said that praying “your will be done” is like asking God, “what do you want me to do?”

This week is about asking God for what we need to do His will.

When God calls us, He also equips us.

When God asks us to do something, He also provides what we need to do it.

If I could make my own paraphrase of this line of the Lord’s prayer in the context of all that we have said so far, it would go...

“Lord, help me trust you for the need of this moment and live day by day.”

That is what “give us this day our daily bread” means.

How do I get to that?

Let me break it down for you.

God, help me trust you...

“Give us this day, our daily bread” doesn't say anything about trust, so why do I say it? - It’s context!

Everything that precedes this line in the prayer is about learning to know God and to trust Him.

Focus on God when making your request.

To be honest, most of us begin our prayers with requests.

In fact, most of us don’t even pray unless we want something or need something from God.

Notice that we are half-way through the prayer, and just now are we beginning to make a request.

How do you like it when people come only to ask you for favors, but don’t stick around to hear how you are doing? Do you have any friends like that? The only time you see them is when they want something or need something. We usually say that friends like that are worse than enemies.

However, there is another possibility - it’s possible that these are your family, you kids, or people that you have known for so long that you can’t imagine not having them in your life. In other words, they are people who are so confident in the relationship that they feel that they can take it for granted.

Is that how we are with God?

Are we so accustomed to coming to him that we forego the pleasantries and just get right to our requests?

Or have we forgotten who He is and made God into our personal butler?

Really, I’m open to either possibility!

There is a psalm for every though feeling or desire we could possibly want to express to God.

40% of the Psalms are imprecatory psalms - essentially complaints.

Most of them start out moaning about pain, misery or suffering

Or perhaps ranting and raging about injustice or how unfair other people have been.

Eventually, they all resolve - they focus on God, his attributes and even turn into psalms of praise.

Except for Psalm 88 - we call it the psalm for depressed people.

There is no resolution in this Psalm.

You can read it on your own - its all negative and it doesn't end well.

Some people say you have to read on to Psalm 89.

Others have suggested that the resolution of the Psalm is in the very first verse.

Psalm 88:1 ESV

1 O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out day and night before you.

God of my salvation, I cry out to you.

Confidence in God is demonstrated in the fact that you can even come to Him.

That friend who comes and complains or who always wants something - the unspoken part is that they trust you enough to come to you.

I wouldn’t hurt for them to say that part out loud.

The point of asking is to express you trust in God.

That also raises the question, if it is difficult to ask, is it because it is difficult to trust?

Perhaps it will help to look at why God gives us what we need...

Where God gives vision, He gives provision.

How and why to we have the courage to ask god for our needs?

It is based on what we have said so far.

Who am I asking? - My Father in heaven who loves me and cares for me.

How am I asking? - With reverence and awe, knowing that God is able to do more than I can even imagine.

Why am I asking? - Because I have aligned myself with God’s Kingdom and God’s purpose. I want to do His will.

It’s not just about what I want; it’s about what I need to do His will.

Remember the Macedonians that we talked about last week?

When they began to do God’s will by giving, their giving became a supernatural manifestation of joy in generosity.

Paul tells the Corinthians that what he saw happen in Macedonia is a sign of God’s of grace -

that they can trust God to give them everything they need to be similarly generous.

2 Corinthians 9:8 ESV

8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

How many times does it say “all”?

Five times - 4 alls and one every.

Five is the number of God’s grace.

He gave the five-fold ministry as a gift of grace to the church.

If you are trying to get God to bless and fund your ideas, then I can understand why you might be conflicted as to whether or not God will provide.

But if your life is devoted to doing Gods will - sure, some of it may be your idea, but aligned with what God has told you - than it’s up to God to make it happen!

We are not just praying for what we want, we are praying for what He wants!

And if you ask God for what you already know He wants, how confident are you that your prayer will be answered!

Daily bread isn’t just about asking - it’s about trusting God and being confident in our relationship with God.

Trusting God is implied in the context of the whole prayer.

… for the need of this moment....

So where is this in the prayer?

It’s in the original Greek.

We tend to think that this line in the Lord’s prayer is about food, because- you know- daily bread.

But if you look at it in the original Greek, it’s really not about bread at all.

We depend on God for our very existence.

Sorry to be such a Bible nerd - but there is a word here that is not found anywhere else in the Bible.

What is typically translated as ‘daily’ in “daily bread” is “epiousion”

This is the only use of the root word “ousia” in this form.

“Ousia” means substance or a state of being.

In the Nicean creed Jesus is one substance (ousia) with the Father.

“exousia” is a word for power or authority. (literally “coming from one’s being)

“parousia” is transformation, as in the rapture or transfiguration. (literally changing from one state of being to another)

“epiousia” would mean over and against a state of being”

So bread described as “epiousion” is “the bread that gives us our existence”

It is everything that we need to survive.

It’s not just bread, but whatever we need.

We are asking God, not just for bread, but for our very existence.

Jesus called himself the “bread of life” and He wasn’t just talking about bread.

John 6:48 ESV

48 I am the bread of life.

This idea of daily bread is loaded with biblical and historical meaning.

In the context of Israels history, daily bread means...

We can rely on God for exactly what we need.

When Jesus said he was the bread of life, he was referring to a story in the old testament.

John 6:48–50 ESV

48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.

Do you remember manna?

Manna literally means “what is it?”

When God brought Israel out of Egypt they needed a source of food in the desert.

God caused the morning dew to solidify into a substance that resembled coriander seed.

They could gather it, grind it and make flour for flatbread.

It was their staple food for forty years of wilderness wandering.

Manna was a miraculous substance.

It was never heard of or seen before.

It stopped the day after Israel celebrated the feast of passover in the promised land.

I also mysteriously always seemed to be just enough for what was needed.

Exodus 16:16–18 ESV

16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’ ” 17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat.

That was a lesson in faith and learning to trust God.

If you try to gather extra, it ends up being just enough.

If you are not able to gather as much as you think you need, it ends up being just enough.

No matter how much manna you eat - whether it be a little or a lot - it ends up being just enough.

So what do you learn from that?

Don’t sweat it!

I mean, do your due diligence - gather the manna - but don’t sweat it if you get a little or a lot - its going to be just enough, it always is!

What would happen if we actually lived our lives like that?

What would you do differently if you really believed that God is the one who is providing for you?

Would you quit your job and say “God is going to take care of me?”

I know people who have done that- you just need to know that it is really what God wants you to do.

Would you take on a new job or a new challenge, if you knew God was in it and you couldn’t lose?

I know people who have done that too. - once again, you have to know that it is God.

You can rely on God for exactly what you need when you are living your life for Him.

… and live day by day.

The translation “daily” bread makes sense because the request is to “give it to us today”

So, in the Greek, it would be “The bread of our existence, give to us today.”

In other words, “give us what we need when we need it.

“Give us this day our daily bread” sounds much more natural and poetic.

The idea is that we live day by day depending on God.

We wake up each morning expecting to find “manna” - exactly what we need to live that day.

We used to have men for a rehabilitation program share their testimony at the the church where I grew up. They would always share something like. “I just thank God for waking me up this morning and giving me a new day!”

When is the last time you thanked God for waking you up or for a new day?

I guess that is the way you think after you have been involved in things that could have or should have ended your life?

Each day is a gift - you don’t take it for granted, because you almost lost it.

Know where your strength comes from.

How would it change your perspective if what you have or don’t have wasn’t a reflection on you, but just a part of following God’s plan?

What if it didn’t matter if you were rich or poor, as long as you had just enough for each day?

What if success in life wasn’t about what you have or even what you do, but just your obedience to God?

Actually Paul said something just like that...

Philippians 4:12–13 ESV

12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Did you know that verse had that context?

Philippians 4:13 is one of the most misquoted verses in the Bible.

We tend to quote it whenever we want God to bless our ambition, but the verse is really about being content with what God gives us.

Being content with whatever god gives us.

The key to understanding this verse is understanding where your strength comes from.

It’s not my strength, its His strength in me.

It’s not my wealth, its God’s wealth given to me for the purpose of His Kingdom.

It’s not my poverty, it’s a God given opportunity to be able to be like Jesus and identify with people in their humanity, so that they can see Him through me.

Every trial I face, whether it is good or bad, has a purpose.

Life may be a roller coaster ride, but I am not defined by the the highs and lows, all that matters is that I stay on track!

It’s not about me, its about Him working through me.

There is one more lesson that we learn from the story of manna in the wilderness and which applies to our prayers...

Don’t stop asking.

Living day by day means living each day.

You don’t take a day off - except for the sabbath, of course.

You don’t store up God’s provision so you can rely on your own.

It is a daily, consistent relying on God.

In the case of manna, it would not last until the next day.

Exodus 16:19–21 ESV

19 And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” 20 But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

Grace is like manna - you can’t store up grace - you can only live in it day by day.

You can say, “Oh, I did some really good deeds, now God won’t mind if I sin today, I made up for it yesterday.”

You cant say, “I have really served God with all my heart, I deserve some time just to be selfish, I’ve earned it!”

Not exactly, God knows we need times of rest and replenishment, but both the grace to work and the grace to rest are from Him, through him and in Him!

Do you know that the same manna which spoiled overnight would not spoil when it was time to rest!

Exodus 16:22–24 ESV

22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, 23 he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’ ” 24 So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it.

You can trust God, not only for the grace you need in the moment to work, but also for the grace you need in the moment to rest.

It’s all the grace you need, in everything and in every way.

That doesn’t mean we don’t save for a rainy day.

There was a day for saving - the sixth day - because God knew they needed it on the seventh.

If God prospers you to be able to save, do it! - just know that God has a plan for your savings as well.

The principle is that we don’t ever reach a point where we are no longer dependent on God.

Matthew 7:7–8 ESV

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

So when it comes to making your requests - go ahead and ask!

God invites you to ask for what you need.

Just as you are asking God daily for what you should do, you can trust Him to give you what you need to do it.

But what you need is not just bread, but the bread of life - the bread of existence.

What you need for each day is not just manna, but Jesus and His grace -”Christ who strengthens me”

We talked about how there is a psalm to express whatever we may need to express - I believe psalm 63 expresses our daily need for God.

Psalm 63:1–4 CEV

1 [A psalm by David when he was in the desert of Judah.] You are my God. I worship you. In my heart, I long for you, as I would long for a stream in a scorching desert. 2 I have seen your power and your glory in the place of worship. 3 Your love means more than life to me, and I praise you. 4 As long as I live, I will pray to you.

God, help me trust you for the need of this moment and live day by day.