Fervent Prayer: Day 3 - ​“Give us this day our daily bread"

"Give us this day our daily bread." Matthew 6:11 NKJV

As we look at today’s portion of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6, we notice a request. We notice a petition for provision. In the instruction Jesus gives, we are taught to acknowledge our need and ask God for our daily necessities. There’s a part of me that finds this kind of odd. Think about it. God already knows everything about us (Psalm 139); God knows our hearts (Proverbs 21:2, 1 Kings 8:39); God knows our thoughts (Psalm 139, Psalm 94:11); He knows what we need BEFORE we ask (Matthew 6:8, Luke 12:22-34). God knows exactly what we are going through (Hebrews 4:15) and what we need before we tell him about it. So then, why are we instructed to pray for our “daily bread” or these “necessities” of life. Here’s what I think:

It’s less about the actual “bread,” and more about acknowledging the provider and sustainer of life itself: God himself in Christ Jesus.

By making the petition for “daily bread,” we are acknowledging that He is the giver of all things, Jehovah Jireh - my provider, and we need him to sustain us in all things. We are acknowledging his Lordship and his beautiful roles as Father and Shepherd.

Please take note that it is “daily” bread, that is, bread enough for the day. The Greek word used here in Matthew is an interesting one and is only used here and in the parallel passage in Luke 11. It means “a daily and needed portion of food, that which suffices for each day.” We are to not live in need or in want, nor are we to live in excess, but as the Psalmist writes in chapter 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”

HE IS ENOUGH. He shall supply all my needs.

So today as we go to prayer, I’d like us to examine our hearts and ponder a few things:

• Is Jesus your provider, your sustainer and your Bread of Life (John 6:48)? Have we surrendered to his Lordship and provision in all things?
• Before we assume we know what we need, let’s ask God to reveal our deepest, truest needs.
• With thanksgiving in our hearts, let’s bring our requests before God (Philippians 4:6), asking for our daily bread.