Daily Bread

When Jesus' disciples asked him to teach them to pray, he included asking for their own needs: "give us this day, our daily bread" (Matt 6:11).  When we pray, we tend to ask for a promotion, a new job, an educational opportunity.  It seems that we are more prone to ask God to set us up so we can provide for our own daily bread.

Daily bread is not enough money to retire on or a promotion to ensure we will make enough to pay for college costs.  Neither of these requests are bad, but neither of them capture the notion of daily trust that Jesus taught his disciples.

What I am getting at is that we tend to want God to put us in the driver's seat so that we can look down the road and know within ourselves that we have it under control.  What he taught was that discipleship comfortably rests in believing God has it under His control and that all we need is just enough.

Daily bread is that which meets our present needs.  It may be a house to live in, a car to drive or a job to provide money.  It may also be a used couch given by a neighbor or an unexpected refund that covers your electric bill or it could be something much more.  The point is not in the heavenly gift but in the ongoing trust in the Giver: "Give me neither riches or poverty but give me only my daily bread" (Prov 30:8).

The point in asking of God is learning to depend on God, now and in the future.  While it is good to plan for the future, put a retirement plan in place, work to pay off your mortgage, etc., none of that is necessary to feel secure when we learn to trust God for our daily needs, knowing that while God may pass on showing up early, he never shows up too late.  God can and will provide our daily needs - we can take that to the bank!  Jus' Sayn.