Give Us This
Day Our Daily Bread
(Is this Petition Relevant
Today?)
by George V Thiruvanathapuram
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In
Mathew Chapter 6 verses 9-13, we have what is generally called as the Lord’s
Prayer.” In using this title, however we
should remember that Jesus never prayed it Himself. It was given to the disciples as a model
after which they could pattern their prayer. In some Christian groups this prayer is often
used, as a matter of routine, without knowing the real meaning of each
petition. Out of the seven petitions
here, the first three concerns the name, kingdom and will of God. The Lord must occupy the highest place, and
indeed in our whole lives. The four
petitions for ourselves rise by degrees from “bread” up to “deliverance from
evil”: teaching us that we ought to grovel in prayer, but to increase in
spirituality while we pray. (C H Spurgeon)
“Give us this day our daily bread.” Give us necessary food, bread for
the day; our own bread, yet thy gracious gift; give it not only to me, but to
all of us thy children. Is this petition
needed today when our purses are thick, bank balances sufficient, and our store
houses and fridges are full with food materials from salad to chicken? There was a time when our forefathers and
evangelists like George Muller or M E Cherian and many others fully depended on
our gracious Lord for each meal? I still
remember a time when a friend of mine, was examining the rooftop of their
wooden house to check, whether he could get few pieces of dried Tapioca, which
was stolen by rats from them. Such was
the hard time! Now the situations have
changed! Who needs such a prayer when
many could join with that fool in Luke 12 who said, “soul, thou hast much goods
laid up for many years, take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry”! (v.
19).
Let us examine this Lord’s teaching
on the basis of the Scriptures:
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Physical Needs:
“Our
daily bread” refers primarily to the supply of our temporal needs. With the Hebrews, bread was a generic term, signifying the
necessities and conveniences of this life.
(Gen: 3:19; 28:20), such as food, raiment and housing. Inherent in the use of the specific term bread rather than the more general term food is an emphasis, teaching us not to ask for
dainties or for riches, but for that which is wholesome and needful. Bread here includes health and appetite apart
from which food does us no good. It also
takes into account nourishment: for this comes not from the food alone, nor
does it lie within the power of man’s will.
Hence God’s blessings on it is to be sought. “For every creature of God is good, and on it
is nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and
prayer” (1 Tim. 4:4,5).
Spiritual Needs:
Mathew
Henry has correctly pointed out that the reason for this request for the supply
of our physical needs heads the last
four petitions in this prayer is that “our natural well being is necessary for
our spiritual well being in the world.” In other words, God grants to us the physical
things of this life as helps to
discharge of our spiritual duties. And
since they are given by Him, they are to be employed in His service, and not
for our selfish activities for making money.
What gracious consideration God shows toward our weakness: we are inept
and unfit to perform our higher duties if deprived of the things needed for the
sustenance of our bodily existence. We
may also rightly infer that this petition comes first, in order to promote the
steady growth and strengthening of our faith.
Perceiving the goodness and faithfulness of God in applying our daily
physical needs, we are encouraged and stimulated to ask for higher blessings
(Cf. Acts. 17:25-28).
Solomon’s Attitude
In
begging God to give us our daily bread, we ask that He might graciously provide
us with a portion of outward things such as He sees will be best suited to our
calling and station. “Give me neither
poverty nor riches; feed me with food
convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny Thee and say, Who is Lord? Or lest
I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain (Prov. 30:8,9). If God grants us the superfluities of life we
are to be thankful, and must endeavor to use them to His glory; but we must not
ask them. “And having food and raiments
let us be therewith content. We
are to ask for “our daily bread” (1 Tim. 6:8)
It is to be obtained not by theft, nor by taking force or fraud what
belongs to another, but by our personal labor and industry. Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty,
open thine eyes, and thou shall be satisfied with bread” (Prov. 20:13)
“She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread
of idleness” (Prov. 31:27) Is this
request restricted to our daily bread) No. First, we are reminded of our frailty. We are unable to continue in health for
twenty four hours, and are unfit for the duties of a single day, unless
constantly fed from on high. Second, we are reminded of the brevity of our mundane existence. None of us know what a day brings forth,
and therefore we are forbidden to boast
ourselves of tomorrow (Pro. 27:1) Third, we are taught to suppress all
anxious concern for the future and to live a day at a time one day at a time. “Take
therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought of the
things of itself. Sufficient unto the
day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6: 34) Fourth,
Christ inculcates a lesson of moderation. Finally, observe that our Lord’s word “Give
us this day our daily bread” is
appropriate for use each morning, whereas the expressions, He teaches in Luke
11:3 “Give us day by day our bread”
ought be our request every night. Then
the question that comes before us is “Do we have family worship (prayer) every
morning and evening? Let us all
re-confirm this in our lives during this year, to have family altar. Let me conclude this by quoting our Lord’s
words from Matthew Chapter 6:25-28
“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall
eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is
not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow
not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father
feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
And
why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they
grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
It then came to the ground to pick up a crum and rising merrily again
seemed to repeat its simple song “Mortals, cease from toil and sorrow, God
provideth for the morrow.” This greatly
comforted the Reformers heart” (C.H.
Spurgeon)
Let us cheer our hearts by
reading that delicious song of contentment: Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd is ENOUGH: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for
ever.” The Lord of hosts is with us; the
God of Jacob is our refuge (Ps. 46:11).
It is good to sing this twice; It is a truth of which no believer
wearies, it is a fact too often forgotten.
John Wesley was sick and could not be understood. He attempted to speak. At last, with all his strength he cried. “The best of all is, God is with us.” Again, raising his hand and waving it in
triumph, he exclaimed with thrilling effect,
“The best of all is, God is with us.”
These words seem to express the leading feature of his life. God had been with him from early
childhood. His providence had guided him
through all the devious wanderings of human life. Now when he was entering the “valley of the
shadow of death,” the same hand sustained him (Spurgeon: “The Treasury of
David”).
Beloved, is the Lord on your
side?
Is Emmanuel, God with us, Your
Redeemer?
(An adaptation from Harvest Times, Mumbai. A GLS publication. Used by permission)
Source:
Back to the Bible, Secunderabad.
Gospel Literature Service (Harvest Times, Mumbai)
Confident Living Magazine
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