Our Daily Bread
Matthew 6:9-13
I hope that our text this morning is quite familiar to you.
I was a little kid in Sunday School when I memorized these words.
Often we call it “the Lord’s Prayer”
I think it is more accurately called the Model Prayer.
It appears twice in Scripture
Here in Matthew during the Sermon on Mount.
In Luke 11 after Christ’s disciples asked Him to teach them to pray like John the Baptist had taught his followers.
Now, I personally do not put a lot of stock into prewritten prayers.
I do not think God is impressed that you can recited a few lines.
I believe true prayer is born in the heart of man.
It does not need to be eloquent or lengthy
It does not need a set form or vocabulary.
I think one of its more important requirements is that it must be from your heart to God’s heart.
That connection between man and God that prayer sparks is a two-way communication.
It is not just a selfish attempt to make God move on our behalf.
It is a relationship where we pour our heart out to God, His heart is moved, and our heart is in turned molded more in His image.
Prayer changes things, and it starts with the one praying.
There is much that could be said about this in relation to the Lord’s Prayer.
It is not a secret code to get God’s attention.
No, it is a form or model that shapes how we approach God in our attitude and requests.
The model begins with the acknowledgement and exaltation of God
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
This is the pitch pipe or tuning fork that sets the key of prayer.
It is an act of worship – it glorifies God and humbles self.
The model continues with acknowledgement and submission to God’s will over our own.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
The requests made to God and the answers He gives to them are based on this statement.
We then come to the list of petitions.
First is for the daily needs of life
Give us this day our daily bread.
Second is forgiveness from God toward us and from us to others.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Third is a plea for protection and guidance.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
The model then closes with another exaltation of God and our submission to Him.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.
Finally, there is the coda that marks the conclusion of our prayer.
Amen.
This literally means “let it be true”.
It is the signature on the painting of prayer by which we endorse the content of our prayer.
It is a final plea that God would hear and answer the desires and needs and cares that we have laid before His throne.
Today, I want to focus on that one phrase – the first petition made in the model prayer:
Give us this day our daily bread.
Is it not marvelous that two verses before this we are basically bowing before the Great God of the Universe as He sits enthroned above the heavens?
Is it not marvelous that the previous verse acknowledges the lordship of God above all things?
Is it not marvelous that the first words of petition made from by our human hearts before all the glory and might and majesty of the Lord God Jehovah is the most humble request we can make?
It is not a cry for forgiveness or deliverance.
It is not a plea for fame or greatness.
It is not a request for a boon of supernatural power.
It is simply a prayer that our most basic needs be met.
The juxtaposition between the greatness of God and the frailty of man is undeniable here.
I believe this is an act of worship.
My definition of worship is basically any action where we exalt God and humble ourselves.
None would deny that is what is happening here.
Give us this day our daily bread.
I am afraid we recite it by rote so quickly that we neglect to the depth of those simple words.
I want to dwell on it for a few minutes this morning.
Let us mine into it and discover the treasures within these few words.
I. GIVE
We are not saying, “God, don’t worry about me, I can handle this.”
Those words always precede disaster.
We are not saying, “Lord, I am working so hard so please bless what I am doing so I can eat.”
No, we are saying, “Oh Mighty God, would you be so kind as to provide for my simple needs?”
The primary action of this request is not on mankind, but on God.
It is through His love and grace that He supplies our needs.
Jas_1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Aren’t you glad this morning that the one who feeds the sparrows is taking care of you?
Aren’t you glad that the one Who gave His only begotten Son is still giving what we need?
I am glad this is on Him and not me.
He will never fail, never be late, never be short, and never be shut down!
Psa_37:25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
II. US
This may be the most remarkable word in this prayer.
So often our prayers are selfish.
“God, I want this!”
We probably sound like Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
I want the works
I want the whole works
Presents and prizes and sweets and surprises
Of all shapes and sizes
And now
Don’t care how
I want it now
I think the most powerful prayers are those of intercession – when we take someone else’s need to God on their behalf.
In that case it is not “do something for ME” but rather “do something for THEM”.
But here it is US.
This is a plea for our family, our communities, our nation, our friends, and so on.
Do not make prayer your personal wish list.
III. THIS DAY
I think this may be the most difficult part of this request for us.
It is not a cry for God to immediately answer our dire need of food lest we starve.
It is instead a reliance upon an expectation that He will continue to provide for us.
Think about the Israelites and the Manna.
God provided that sustenance daily – every morning they would gather enough for that day.
If they gathered more and tried to save it for the future, it would rot and spoil.
Except when gathered in anticipation of the Sabbath day of rest.
Morning after morning God provided sustenance for His children.
Think about Elijah.
When the drought hit the land God provided for him at the Brook Cherith twice a day, morning and evening, brought in by the Door Dash of the day, flocks of ravens.
Sorry, let me correct that – a flock of ravens is called an “unkindness”.
I don’t make the rules…
When the drought lingered on, God provided for Elijah with the widow at Zarephath.
Every day there was just enough meal and oil for the prophet, the widow, and her son.
Never more, never less.
We want a cupboard or a cellar full of food.
We want a grocery store fully stocked at the ready.
But God says, “trust in me to care for you and provide what you need when you need it.”
If only we had faith enough to lay hold of that promise!
How much of our anxiety would flee if we would simply rest in God’s care!
IV. Our Daily Bread
If you are on a Low Carb diet or perhaps have gluten allergies, do not worry here.
It is not literally “bread” here, though I frankly would not be opposed to that myself.
Bread is the simplest of foods.
Flour, water, and then maybe yeast, salt, or oil depending on the type of bread you are going for.
It is not necessarily grand or elegant.
You don’t see Mrs. Baird’s being used as a wedding cake!
It is not indulgent nor luxurious.
You do not give your Valentine a package of tortillas.
It is just bread.
It is a staple food that provides calories and adds balance to meals.
What I am trying to say here is that God is not promising to provide you with caviar and filet mignon,
Be assured that He will provide, even if it is off-brand Dr. Pepper and Vienna sausages.
He knows our needs better than we do, He is moved to meet those needs out of His boundless compassion, and He provides for us out of the limitless supply of His goodness.
Now, I cannot move on without saying one more thing.
Never accuse God’s provision of being lacking.
If He provides you a hot dog, it will be better than the sirloin steaks the devil serves.
Trust in God’s care and you will find He provides abundantly and wonderfully beyond our imagination.
It isn’t always bread, sometimes it is barbeque and chocolate pudding,
Whatever He provides is best.
CONCLUSION
I listened to an audio book a few months back called “The Anxious Generation”
It was about how today’s young people have developed multiple social and psychological issues because of the invasion of technology and other societal changes.
We live in a world that is on edge, waiting the next hammer blow to fall.
This is not the life that a Christian should live.
Christ came to give us peace – not to make all the problems go away but to supply peace to our hearts in spite of the storms.
He is greater than any problem we face.
He is stronger than any burden we carry.
Take your burdens to Him.
Know that He cares for you.
Experience His goodness and His grace.
Mat 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Mat 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Psa_34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
SALVATION