Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Asking for More Than Daily Bread

Matthew 6:11 Lord’s Prayer “Give us today our daily bread.”

New Year resolutions frustrate me. I am not good at keeping them. I try different venues for being resolute, even writing them in my daily planner. Still I fall short of keeping the resolution for more than a few weeks. Long range planning is difficult for me. Yet, I strive to achieve it, often working more towards tomorrow than living today. There is nothing wrong with planning and we should. After all, Noah didn’t build the ark in a day. We need goals and must strive to achieve them, but we should not strive so much for tomorrow that we miss today. Life is given to us day-by-day, not year-by-year for a reason. We have a hard enough time handling each day.

I wonder how many of us have prayed this verse of the Lord’s Prayer without really understanding or grasping the meaning. “Give us today our daily bread”. Notice, it doesn’t say give us what we need for the week, month, year or lifetime. It says daily. Jesus tells us, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34)

Start today by taking one day at a time. Begin the day with nourishment from the Father. Ask for the daily bread, God’s life-giving presence. Use what is given to you each day. Don’t become so greedy and untrusting of God to meet our daily needs like the Israelites in Exodus who took more than their daily manna and it became spoiled and filled with maggots. (Exodus 16:20) With faith trust God for today's needs and let go of tomorrow's anxieties. Then step out in obedience to God. God’s supply is abundance and given freely to us.

Prayer: Gracious Father, let me pray for today’s bread, the manna that you have for me for today. Renew me today with your presence. As I receive your daily bread, let me keep my daily dependence on you for my needs. Amen.

Digging deeper: Exodus 16:4, Luke 9:23, Hebrews 11:1, Matthew 6:25, 32-33, Lamentations 3:22-23

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