Devotionals

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Matthew 6:11
Give us this day our daily bread.
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The Word of God is the richest mine where you could ever dig. Each book, chapter, and verse is filled with connections and implications and hope and love and glory. The Bible is an inexhaustible treasury of wisdom, a place where we can always find more to learn and to know and to teach. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar. A person who tells you they already "know the Bible" is someone who doesn't really read it.

Look at the short verse above from the Lord's Prayer. It says just, "Give us this day our daily bread." Only seven words in English and eight words in Greek, this short verse is as rich as "Jesus wept" (John 11:35) or "Then God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." (Genesis 1:3) This verse speaks of God's providence, our hope and faith, His love and power, and even of salvation.

• "Give us" - This is supplication, pure and simple. No beating around the bush, no hemming and hawing. We are not to ask "I would LIKE for you to give me..." No, we are to boldly ask for what He has promised us. Note, too, that this is a corporate request, a prayer not just for oneself but also for the community of believers. "Give US..."

• "This day" - The Greek word is "semeron," which means "on the day" or "today" or "right now." This is not a future request nor an ongoing request for perpetual providence. This is an immediate request, a prayer for God's promise to be fulfilled this day.

• "Our daily bread" - There are two common interpretations of these words. In one sense, we are asking God to allow us to have our physical needs met by receiving nourishment for the day. Literally, we are asking for "our allotment of bread," our share from God's storehouses, asking God to meet our daily needs. In another sense (and this is the most common one today), we think of "our daily bread" as our daily portion of God's Word. After all, Jesus reiterated what Moses had shared from God, that "man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD." (Deuteronomy 8:3b, Matthew 4:4) And since we know of the Bible as the Word of God, it seems logical that we ask Him to give us more of it every day in order to enlighten and encourage us. God's Word is thus our spiritual nourishment for the day. We could even combine these two interpretations and say we are asking God to satisfy our physical and spiritual hunger as only He can. But there is a third sense for "our daily bread" that we can see from that connection to Jesus' temptation in the desert.

In the desert, the devil comes to Jesus after our Lord has been fasting forty days and forty nights. Satan says, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." (Matthew 4:3) We have no doubt but that Jesus could easily have spoken the words that would turn stones to bread. We know He can turn water into wine with barely a thought, so bread from stones would be little different. Jesus has that power. For that matter, WE have the power to work and earn money and buy bread for ourselves and others. Yes, there is famine and want in the world, but yet there is also such great bounty that no one truly need go hungry. In short, we humans have the capability to provide ourselves with much more than just our daily bread. But when Jesus and Moses said we live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, they were reminding us that it's not about the bread itself but about the Power that gives it to us.

The earth and the heavens were created through the power of the Word that issued from the mouth of God. The waters were parted by the Word given to Moses from the mouth of God. David was anointed king and united Israel because of the Word that came from the mouth of God. Salvation came to all mankind because of the promise spoken to Abraham in a Word from the mouth of God. Jesus received His power and blessing from the Father in the Spirit descending like a dove, with a Word spoken from the mouth of God: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17)

THAT is the daily bread we should seek: the power of God moving in our lives every day to bless us and to empower us to do His will. It's about far more than just our spiritual or physical nourishment, it's about receiving the very power of God to enact His will on earth just as it is in heaven.

"Give us this day our daily bread" is a call to God to share the riches of His grace and power so that we can be sure to do only His will, to follow His purpose for our lives. God prepared good works for us to do (Ephesians 2:10), and now we are asking for the power to do those things. God gives spiritual gifts to each of us according to His will (1 Corinthians 12:11), and now we are asking for those gifts to fill us up as bread and words (however holy) cannot. "Give us this day our daily bread," we say with bold confidence that God can and will provide us with whatever we need to accomplish His will for us on earth today.

As we look into the Lord's Prayer and speak it aloud, let us reflect on the richness of what He has given us. Let us meditate on the bounty of His Word and on the blessings He has provided each of us. And let us live our faith in Him so boldly that our prayer is no longer about our physical or spiritual needs but about His will, about His salvation, and about His love for all mankind.

Our Father in heaven, blessed indeed are You for providing so bounteously for our physical and spiritual needs. Give us all this day whatever we need to do Your will, to perform the good works You have prepared for us to do. If we need wisdom, then share it with us. If we need to be able to heal, then allow us to. If we must help others discern evil, then open our eyes to see and our mouths to speak what is necessary. Give us our daily faith, our daily power, our daily Word for the working of Your will and Yours alone. Amen.

© 2010 Glenn A. Pettit-Noel

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