Daily Bread

He said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation. -Luke 11:2-4 (NIV)

Usually when I read or recite the Lord's Prayer, I focus on the line "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us." I remind myself that what we are basically saying to God is "forgive us of our sins to the extent that we are willing to forgive the sins of others."

But the phrase that catches my eye this morning is "Give us each day our daily bread." Scholars suggest that "bread" speaks of a basic necessity, the bare minimum we need in order to survive. When we pray that God would give us each day our daily bread, we are basically asking God to help us be satisfied with the mere basics of life. The reality is, however, is that I am not very often satisfied with the basic necessities of life. I convince myself that I need the new iPhone, a nicer car, and the latest version of Madden Football on my Play Station 3 game console. Yes, I pray that God would grant me this day my daily bread but the reality is that I'm not really there yet in so many areas of my life.

I also realize that it's tough to pray for God to give me daily bread when there are so many people in the world who don't have bread today, didn't have it yesterday, and probably won't have it tomorrow. When I pray this prayer, I am fairly confident that I'm going to have bread. But to many praying this prayer, they know that there's a great likelihood that they will not have it. This morning, I am convicted that I should not ask God to give me daily bread unless I'm willing to help others get their daily bread as well.

Today I'm thanking God for a new ministry at our church called Manna Meals. Its goal is to serve hot meals to the hungry in our community while showing them the same great love that Christ has for us. Today as I pray the Lord's prayer and ask God to provide daily bread, I take great comfort in knowing that our church is committing to do what it can to provide the daily bread of God to others.

Today, may God grant you the grace to be content with what you have but also the willingness to share what you have with others in need.


Tomorrow's readings: Zechariah 4-6 and Luke 12.