Where have we got to thinking about the Lord’s Prayer?
In the first two parts, we’ve been making sure that we understand our prayers are heard by a holy God, and that we want Him to answer them in such a way that His will is done.
Having done that, the Lord’s Prayer now makes a series of requests; the first of which is, ‘Give us today our daily bread’. But what does Jesus mean by that? We know that He must mean more than just a loaf of bread to hand.
All of us have a number of basic needs, food and drink being the most basic of them. So, asking our Heavenly Father for bread means asking Him to provide what we need to keep our bodies nourished, and bread is a very good example (or symbol) of that.
But if you think about it, we all have other needs, too. Our hearts need to be fed with good relationships; our minds need to be fed with knowledge and wisdom; our souls need to be fed with art and music and literature. All of these could be thought of as ‘bread’; things that keep us healthy and strong. But above all these, or rather through all these, we need to be fed spiritual bread.
An organisation called Scripture Union produces booklets offering a daily Bible reading along with some thought provoking questions about how the Bible can shape our lives in practical ways. The booklets are called ‘Daily Bread’, echoing the words of the Lord’s Prayer.
God wants to feed us in many ways, starting with strengthening us in our bodily needs. And He wants to feed us through the Bible, His word. As we read it, as we try to ‘digest’ its words, so our spiritual lives can be strengthened and our faith nourished by having our minds shaped. In that way we can live more and more in a way that is in line with God’s will.
‘Give us today our daily bread’ sounds simple; it is simple, but it also very deep. It’s right that we should turn to Him to meet all our needs.
When you pray the Lord’s Prayer next time, pause at these words. Before you go on, think about all your needs, and ask God for each one of them to be met. Remember, all good parents want to give their children what they need. So, make sure you thank your Heavenly Father because He is a generous provider.
