Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

In This Petition we Acknowledge The Gift And The Giver.

First, what are we praying for?

I have heard this petition called a holy materialistic petition.

While I do not object to this characterization of the petition, I feel that it does not go far enough.

in this petition we are admitting up front-- our desperate dependence upon God for all things needed to live. Luther states it this way: food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, animals, money, good friends, good government, Good children, faithful rulers, good weather, etc.

Have you asked God for all these things?

we know that he gives them to us even without our asking but we pray in this petition that he lead us by his Spirit to recognize him as the giver and give thanks!

ii. The pastor of a city church noticed scraps of paper in a certain pew in the sanctuary after each Sunday service. One day he decided to examine the crumpled pieces of paper. He found such notes as: “Mary—ill; Bob, needs job; her rent due; my needs …” After a few weeks of this, the pastor, who alerted several members who sat in the area where messages were found to please identify, if possible, the person who was leaving tidbits of information each Sunday. The quiet plan succeeded. In due time, the pastor engaged the lady in conversation in his study about the intriguing practice of leaving notes regarding various peoples needs that she knew behind in her pew.

Smiling, the gentle lady declared that the bits of paper had deep meaning for her. “You will think it silly, but sometime ago I read, ‘Take your troubles to church with you.’ So I write down my concerns, burdens, and needs on little pieces of paper, take them to church, pray about them, and leave them there. I feel God is taking care of them!”

While praying for all of this certainly acknowledges God as the giver of all good material gifts, I believe that there still may be more for us to think about.

Perhaps there is a spiritual dimension too.

Jesus calls himself the bread of life. He was born in Bethlehem, the house of bread. Faith in Jesus is the food that never ceases to satisfy.

those who eat of his body and drink of his blood will never hunger or thirst again, he promises.

Give us this day our daily dose of the bread of life.

each day has enough trouble for itself so Jesus reminds us in this prayer that daily dependence upon God is the right way to approach our complicated lives.

He will provide for us because he wants us to walk with him daily. He did the same when the children of Israel entered the promise land. They were not to store up goods and possessions instead they were to trust God to provide for them just as he had in their time wandering about in the wilderness.

Conclusion: Give us the faith to trust you each day Lord for all we need for this body and life. Amen.