Give Us Daily Bread

Week 4: Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

The Lord's Prayer Series

Text: Matthew 6:11

Matthew 6:11 NIV

Give us today our daily bread.

Central Idea: The Lord provides exactly what you need.

Application Question: Instead of praying for what you want, have you ever thought about praying for God to change your desires?

INTRODUCTION

We've reached a turning point in the Lord's Prayer.

So far, every petition has been focused on God:

• "Hallowed be YOUR name"

• YOUR kingdom come"

• YOUR will be done"

But now, finally, Jesus teaches us to bring our needs before God: "Give us this day our daily bread."

And even here—even in this personal petition—notice what Jesus teaches us to ask for.

Not wealth.

Not luxury.

Not abundance.

Not even comfort.

Just bread. Just what we need for today.

This simple request reveals something profound about God's provision, our contentment, and what it means to trust God one day at a time.

I have four main thoughts on this single verse for you today:

I. THE ORDER OF PRAYER MATTERS (v. 11)

God First, Then Us

It's only after the recognition of God's authority and his will that Jesus instructs the disciples how to make a petition for their individual needs.

The order matters:

1. Praise God for who he is

2. Pray for his kingdom to be enacted on earth

3. Then, finally, move on to what you need

This teaches us that authentic prayer begins with God, not with us. We don't rush into God's presence with our shopping list.

We PAUSE.

We REJOICE / REFLECT on who HE is. We align ourselves with his purposes.

And then we bring our needs by ASKING.

Need Over Want

Even in making this personal request, Jesus doesn't teach us to pray for everything we want. He teaches us to pray for what we need—in this case, food to stay alive.

"Give us this day our daily bread."

That's it.

Not "Give us this day a five-course meal."

Not "Give us this day financial security for the next decade."

Just bread. Just enough for today.

Jesus is teaching the disciples the proper focus of our lives:

• Our relationship with God first

• Our care for the world second

• An expression of what we need (over what we want) third

Hebrews 13:5 NIV

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

II. DAILY DEPENDENCE ON GOD (v. 11)

"Give us this day..."

Day by Day Faith

Jesus teaches the believers to adopt a reliance on God that is focused day by day and hearkens back to God's proven provision of Israel during her time in the wilderness.

Remember the manna? (Exodus 16)

Exodus 16:2–5 NIV

In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”

• God provided exactly what Israel needed each day

• They couldn't hoard it or store it up

• They had to trust God would provide again tomorrow

• It was a daily lesson in dependence

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

"Give us this day our daily bread."

Not "Give us this year our annual supply."

Not "Give us this decade our retirement plan."

Not "Give us security so we never have to trust you again."

This day. Today. Now.

2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV

For we live by faith, not by sight.

Believers walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7), and this prayer encourages them to return daily to the well of their provision. Jesus is teaching that believers should ask God daily to provide for them.

Building Strong Faith

This daily practice can become the basis for a strong faith that can look back and see multiple days when God provided in ample measure.

Think about it:

If you pray once for God to make you wealthy, and it doesn't happen, you might lose faith

But if you pray every day for God to provide what you need that day, you'll accumulate hundreds, thousands of testimonies of God's faithfulness

The question isn't "Has God made me rich?"

The question is "Has God provided for me today?"

And the answer, day after day, is yes.

Addy’s accident / prayer for healing & protection

III. DELIVERANCE FROM THE FEAR OF NOT HAVING (v. 11)

The Aramaic/Syriac Translation

Ken Bailey observes that Jesus spoke Aramaic, which is very closely related to Syriac. In the Syriac translation of this verse, Jesus teaches:

"Amen bread today give us."

The Syriac word for amen means "never ceasing, never ending." Thus, Jesus is teaching the disciples to pray for deliverance from the fear of not having what is needed.

The Anxiety of Scarcity

How much of our stress, worry, and anxiety comes from the fear of not having enough?

• Not having enough money

• Not having enough time

• Not having enough resources

• Not having enough security

Jesus is teaching us to pray: "God, give us never-ending, never-ceasing provision of what we need."

Not necessarily what we want. But what we need.

And in that, to find freedom from the tyranny of constant worry about whether we'll have enough.

IV. CONTENTMENT WITH BREAD (v. 11)

"...our daily bread."

Why Bread?

When it comes to food, there are many things Jesus could have taught his disciples to pray for. He could have taught them to ask for:

• Steak

• Surf and turf

• Gourmet meals

• Cake and desserts

But he tells them to ask for bread.

There's a lesson here on contentment and what is needed to sustain life.

Philippians 4:11–13 NIV

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Bread is:

• Simple

• Basic

• Essential

• Sufficient

It's not fancy. It's not impressive. But it's enough.

The Rich Who Have Everything But Fulfillment

There's a man named Rey Flemmings who is a "fixer" for the global elite. His clients are not the 1% wealthy—they are the 0.003%.

An interview with Vice magazine describing what he does for them reveals this striking truth:

"Flemings gives the fantastically rich a private place to admit what they can't say publicly: that their extravagant life is not as fulfilling as they had hoped it would be."

These are people who have everything money can buy. Everything. And yet they're not fulfilled.

Praying for what you need—what Jesus calls bread—may seem monotonous, but God will provide what you need, and he fulfills the desires of our hearts by his very presence.

“Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.”

C.S. Lewis

The Spiral of Consumption (The Diderot Effect)

Have you heard of the Diderot Effect? It's a theory that obtaining something new can lead to a spiral of consumption, leading to new purchases without end.

It's named after the French philosopher Denis Diderot. He was destitute until Catherine the Great learned of his misfortune and bought his library for what would be $150,000 in today's money.

With this money, he bought himself a nice robe. But the robe didn't match anything else he owned. So he started buying more and more and more possessions and clothes until he went bankrupt.

Sound familiar?

• You buy a new car, now your house looks shabby

• You remodel the kitchen, now the living room looks dated

• You upgrade your phone, now your laptop seems slow

• The cycle never ends

Ecclesiastes 5:10 NIV

Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.

The simplicity of the Lord's Prayer is a reminder to be content with what God provides and that having more doesn't necessarily lead to happiness.

In fact, Jesus teaches us to pray for daily bread—for simple provision—and in that simplicity, to find satisfaction in the God who provides rather than in the things he provides.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

So let me bring this home with some practical questions:

What Are You Actually Asking For?

When you pray, what do you spend most of your time asking for?

Things you want?

Things you need?

Things that will genuinely satisfy?

Things that will leave you wanting more?

Are You Approaching God Daily?

Are you developing the habit of daily dependence on God? Or are you trying to stockpile security so you don't have to trust him?

This doesn't mean we shouldn't save money or plan for the future. It means we hold those things loosely, recognizing that our true security is in God, not in our bank account.

Have You Considered Praying for Changed Desires?

Here's the application question: Instead of praying for what you want, have you ever thought about praying for God to change your desires?

What if instead of praying:

"God, give me that promotion"

You prayed:

"God, help me be content where I am" Philippians 4:11

"God, give me more money"

You prayed:

“God, help me be generous with what I have" 2 Corinthians 9:6-8

"God, give me a bigger house"

You prayed:

"God, help me be grateful for shelter" Psalm 5:11

"God, give me what I want"

You prayed:

"God, align my wants with what you know I need" 1 John 5:14-15

This is a radical shift. But it's the shift Jesus is teaching in this prayer.

CONCLUSION

The Lord provides exactly what you need.

Not always what you want. Not always when you want it. Not always in the way you expected. But exactly what you need.

And he invites you to come to him every day, with open hands, and ask for your daily bread.

A Daily Prayer

So here's what I want you to do this week:

Every morning, before you check your phone, before you start your day, before you dive into the chaos—pray this simple prayer:

"Father, give me today what I need. Not what I want, but what I need. Help me trust you for this day. And give me contentment in your provision. Amen."

That's it. Simple. Direct. Honest.

And then watch. Watch how God provides. Watch how your anxiety decreases. Watch how your gratitude increases. Watch how your trust deepens.

Because when we pray for daily bread, we're not just asking for physical sustenance. We're asking for a daily reminder that God is faithful, God is good, and God provides.

Let's pray.

Matthew 6:9–13 KJV 1900

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, for ever. Amen.