Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
Matthew 6:9 After this manner, therefore, pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom comes, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
There is a secret to having peace in the face of need. With one application of the divine principle, we can sweep away fear and anxiety. We know God has promised to care for us; we also know how overwhelming life can be at times. In those overwhelming times, we can claim our promised provision and peace by praying the principle “One Day At A Time”.
The principle was illustrated in the manna which fell fresh every morning. There could be no hoarding; hoarding would be a lack of faith; doubting that the next day’s manna would fall. There could be no lazy failure to obey, for that would mean going hungry. To be fed required faith – trust and obedience. So it is today. We trust and obey for each day’s provision. Give us this day our daily bread.
The secret is as simple as that. Each day, when we pray, we ask for what we need that day. We expect to receive what we need for that day. We do not worry about the future; we rest on the promise that we will receive new grace for each new day.
To have faith to pray for today’s needs means that I must be clear about what I really need today. I particularly remember one-day several years ago as I brought my needs to God. I told him, “Father, my rent is due in two weeks and I have no money. My electric bill is due in ten days and I have no money. My phone bill is due in five days and I have no money. What am I going to do?” God replied, “Do you have a roof over your head and food today?” “Yes”, I replied. “Do you have a phone and lights today?” “Yes.” “Then”, God told me gently, “Wait until I let you down to complain.” When the due date came for each bill, the money was there. And I learned how to pray for my daily bread.
Of course, we must sometimes consider the future. Sensible people must plan ahead. Sometimes it takes much prayer to develop the faith to lose our answer. It is never wrong to pray about what concerns us, God is interested in our future, as well as our present. But faith is the key to the answer and “daily” is the key to faith.
We may safely leave all our cares and troubles in God’s lap in prayer. The secret is to leave them there. Once we have cast our cares upon him, we should not take them back again. We will not be discouraged if the answer does not come today; we look for the results that belong to today. We confidently expect our daily bread.
Expectation causes us to look for the promised blessing for today. In his example prayer, Jesus assured us of the existence of daily blessings. Each day we lose today’s blessings with today’s faith. Sometimes we spend so much time worrying about tomorrow that we miss what God is doing for us today. We need to locate today’s blessings and in our prayers offer thanks. By so doing, we raise our level of faith in preparation for tomorrow’s blessings.
Living and praying in the present brings us peace. We can leave our long-term problems in God’s hands and look for today’s answers. We can increase our faith and see the results of our prayers. One day at a time.
Exercises
1. Look back at your Prayer Journal, wherein Lesson 3 you began recording your requests and your faith journey for each one. Note the date when each was answered and look for the timing with which God answers our prayers. Try to discover how to tell when God is about to move in a particular situation; in other words when that need becomes “today’s bread”.
2. Just before bedtime today, think about and write down every blessing you have received, small and great. These blessings are your “daily bread”.
3. Each time you feel anxiety over an unmet need, pray for peace. Peace can be our answer for today.
