Daily Bread

How to Pray

TLK 3

Bottom Line: Surrender is not a one-time decision; it is a daily dependence on God

Intro

Week 3 of slow walking the Lord’s Prayer– how Jesus taught people to pray… we believe this season our church is in will be a landmark in our history as we become a people even more of prayer by better understanding how to pray and how to live out those prayers… praying does not stop at amen

Today we are looking at the shortest verse in the Lord’s Prayer… excited because this verse reveals the secret to how God meets our needs? Anyone have a need here today? (give two light hearted examples)

Truth

Matthew 6:9-11→ context→ right in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount→ Jesus’ sermon on the reality of God’s Kingdom and how people can live out the Kingdom

Matthew 6:9→ two truths about God→ proclaims: “God, you are above all!”

Matthew 6:10→ Because God is above all, I must respond by surrendering to His reign and seek to accomplish His will over my own

Matthew 6:11→ the order of this prayer is significant… this helps us properly understand the framework in which God meets our needs and provides… and also how our mindset should be oriented in our asking

Two things in view→ The supremacy of God and our surrender to His reign and will in His creation→ if we have this framed correctly there is only one thing this verse points us too→ Dependence

Jesus is teaching us a significant reality in the Kingdom of God: Surrender is not a one-time decision; it is a daily dependence on God

Give us→ Grant our request→ Everything we have comes from God… down to our paycheck… nothing is earned outside of God’s sovereignty… All belongs to God…Am I acknowledging the rightful giver of my provisions?

Also, notice the communal language→ provide not just for me but for everyone… underlying implication for followers of Christ→ God help me see how your provisions you have given me can also provide for others→ How can I be the answer to someone else's prayer? Not promoting socialism of communism but rather a selflessness and sacrifice for one another

Daily→ one of the most interesting and debated words in the NT→ it is only used in the Lord’s Prayer… no where else in Greek literature can this word be found… highly debated over exact meaning because Jesus coins a word just for this specific request to God… for the coming day which is necessary for existence→ portrays a deep/profound need for the request and the need for the only one who can provide it come through… God, without you I will not be able to exist in the way I was created to exist

Bread→ Here we see what is being requested… Bread is associated with satisfaction in Scripture… Here is where we come to better grasp the depth of our need for God to provide.

Context→ most of Jesus’ audience lived hand-to-mouth→ paid daily, bread/food made daily… most families had no way to preserve food for long periods of time… no food prepping for the week, pantries to stockpile, refrigerators to fill up… Daily bread was a literal, real need for people in that day… they did not know where their next meal would come from

Jesus is teaching to bring our physical needs to God… He cares about them… And remember the framework→ our needs and desires are reoriented as we surrender to God’s will and reign in our lives→ wants and needs are different.

God is not interested in being your genie in a bottle– that builds your kingdom, not His… He desires for you to trust Him as your perfect provider→ like the good father He is→ Matthew 7:7-12

Bring everything to Him… every request, every need, every desire… Ready to trust that He will answer according to His rule and His will, in His time… Be ready to be the answer for someone else too when he abundantly provides for our physical needs

Yes God will satisfy our physical needs (not wants)... but there is a deeper need that Jesus is pointing His audience to… to understand it, we need to think like His first century audience did… Bread is not just a metaphor for physical needs…

Exodus 16:4-5→ God provides daily for their physical needs but there is something else God is pointing towards…

Deuteronomy 8:3→ Same verse Jesus uses to fight off Satan’s temptation… God is telling His people, “There is a deeper satisfaction that only I can provide for”... One that lies deep within the soul of each one of us… If you remember last week, Jesus was referred to as something in John 1→ The Word→ first signpost to something incredible God is doing… Because Jesus also refers to Himself as something else in Scripture…

John 6:35→ Bread of Life→ With this we can more fully understand the depth of the request for daily bread… Jesus is the only one who can satisfy our spiritual need→ Gospel→ Fully surrender to Jesus as Lord and Savior… continually be fed through His Word…

Surrender is not a one-time decision; it is a daily dependence on God to be satisfied physically and spiritually… This is the only way to satisfy the deepest parts of our soul… trusting that He will provide because of who He is and what He has promised… We are not asking God to simply give us some food or money or material things… we are asking God to help us trust Him as we surrender to His reign and will…

How/when does God meet our needs? God meets our needs when we seek His kingdom above all else→ Matthew 6:25-33→ God’s promise to us is that if we surrender to His reign and will– seeking His Kingdom– He will make sure we have all we need to be satisfied→ he does not promise health and wealth… He does not promise an easy life… He promises a satisfied life… Not comfortable, sometimes even in want…

The only way we can experience true satisfaction is when we are surrender to our Creator

Application

Are you seeking His Kingdom?

3 questions to provide some insight

Am I feeding on the Word daily? → Set a time and place to create a sacred space→ you can't be well fed on one meal a week

Do I trust God will provide for me physically? → what am I worrying about? Am I looking to be the answer to someone else’s prayer?

Am I searching for soul satisfaction somewhere other than God?

Materialism, relationships, Job, social status, family members, etc

Confess, repent, surrender daily…. Trust God as the perfect provider.