Give us this day our daily bread.
What does it mean?
In fact, God gives our daily bread without our prayer, even to all wicked people, but in this prayer we ask that God make us recognize what our daily bread is and receive it with thanksgiving..~Small Catechism 3:13
Dear people of God,
When the disciples asked Jesus how they should pray, he gave them the Lord’s Prayer. We pray the Lord’s Prayer every day because we know that God loves to hear it and will surely answer it. I recommend praying the Lord’s Prayer regularly not only because God wants to hear it, but also because it will engrave the goodness of the Lord into your bones. Whenever you are afraid, anxious, or in danger, it is a particularly good time to pray the Lord’s Prayer. But every time is also a good time. We must never think that we are above praying for something so simple and ordinary. We always need to be reminded of the basics of our faith, which includes the basics of prayer.
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Among the petitions (or requests) prayed in the Lord’s Prayer is “give us this day our daily bread.” It is at once a simple and a complex request that we make to God. Daily bread eventually becomes all we need to sustain this body and life. This includes bread. (Any food we need is meant.) In order for our daily bread to reach the grocery shelf, it must first be planted. Adult. Harvested. Processed. Transported. This means that our prayer for daily bread extends to the fields where our daily bread is grown. This prayer includes a sincere desire for God to produce a bountiful harvest so that all people can enjoy their daily bread. Good weather is needed. This petition includes fair wages and fair treatment for those who work with their hands and sweat to put bread on our shelves. From the field to the grocery store, there is a lot behind it and many hands are involved to provide the people with their daily bread. When we pray “give us this day our daily bread”, we are also praying for everyone who is hungry. For the words “Give us” mean not only myself, but all my neighbors, great and small. We have God’s beautiful promise that He will indeed feed all men “even all wicked men.” Therefore, when God calls you and me to provide bread to the needy (certainly He calls us to this task), we do not hold back our love, whoever it is.
Whenever we pray, God wants us to pray with absolute confidence that He will hear and answer us. Although we may not always see the answer to our prayers ourselves. It is also a promise that God will be faithful and “want to fill our aprons”. We don’t even pray because we think it will improve our standing with God. We simply pray freely in gratitude for all that God has done for us. Especially for all that God has done for us in Jesus. It is not prayer that makes you pleasing to God, but prayer is pleasing to God because you have been reconciled to him in Christ. He will definitely take care of you and hold you in his arms. Nothing in all creation can separate you from the love of God in Jesus Christ. In all tribulation, nothing can yet tear you away.
Peace and joy,
Pastor Levi Powers
Mount of Olives Lutheran Church
Rock Springs, WY