Read: Matthew 6:9-13
Depending on God for our daily bread is an exercise in trust. In this portion of the Lord’s Prayer there is a major transition that occurs from focusing primarily on God independent of our experience to a focus on the most basic elements of human existence: physical sustenance.
All of the Israelites in Jesus’ audience would have had an immediate context for this petition of the Lord’s prayer as it is linked directly back to Israel’s wandering in the wilderness after being delivered from Egypt. During this time the LORD was providing the Israelites with “Manna” a bread-like food that was given everyday but would only last for that one day with the exception of Fridays, when the Israelites were allowed to gather two days worth. In this context, the Israelites were experiencing a direct dependence on the LORD for every meal, testing the bounds of their trust in God.
In Matthew, the LORD’s prayer comes shortly after Jesus own wandering in the dessert (Matthew 4:1-4). It was during his time in the dessert that Jesus was undergoing a period of fasting, which was drawing him closer to the Father in a perfect relationship of trust that was proven during his temptation by Satan. Jesus displays daily dependence perfectly. Therefore, it is only by the Spirit working Jesus’ perfect obedience in us that we will also pray like Jesus prays, for our daily bread, trusting God to provide. Trust like this takes a lifetime to cultivate and Jesus is faithful to persevere in us.
Questions:
How does the context of Israel wandering in the dessert help us to understand this prayer?
What are some of the hardest parts of depending on God daily for all we need?
How has God shown himself to be faithful in answering this prayer (even if it’s not how you expected it to be answered)?
What about life in Northern Virginia/DC makes it hard to pray this prayer with conviction?
Do you really believe that God wants you to pray like this? Why/why not?
Pray:
Spend some time praying for each other’s hearts in asking God for our daily needs and trusting him to provide. Pray against the temptations of hoarding, coveting, and envying that display a mindset of scarcity and skepticism rather than daily dependence. Pray for wisdom in applying the principles of this part of the Lord’s Prayer in daily life and life decisions.