Is it just me, or does that just open the door wide open? What should we look to God for? Literally anything we’re worried about. One of my favorite promises related to this is Philippians 4:6: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Our requests don’t even have to be spiritual, because bread, after all, is not particularly spiritual. It means that day by day, we are looking to God as the ultimate source of everything-not just bread, but anything we need-as a dad, as a husband, as a student, in any role we have. The phrasing (in Greek) is “today bread.” It is intentionally short-lived. “Give us our daily bread” pushes us the opposite way. The essence of sin, you see, is independence and autonomy from God. But what Jesus wants to teach every believer here is how to develop a posture of dependence on God, thanking him for every gift, great and small. It should be noted, of course, that many believers throughout the world, in their poverty, identify with this request much more intuitively. Most of us in the West never think to pray this phrase because we don’t wonder where our next meal, whether it’s burgers or kale, is coming from. Not “our daily kale” or “our daily juice cleanse.” What would Jesus do? He wouldn’t get the bun-less hamburger, that’s what. There’s proof, you see, in his model prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11 ESV). I find it comforting-empowering, almost-that Jesus liked bread. And be sure to come back tomorrow for the last installment! If It Matters to You, It Matters to God: The Encouraging Command to Pray for Bread Don’t miss Monday’s post (“ Our Father ”), Tuesday’s (“ Hallowed Be Your Name ”), or yesterday’s (“ Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done”). This is the fourth of a five-part series on the Lord’s Prayer.
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