Day 14: Our Daily Bread
I think it is amazing that Jesus knows exactly what He is saying at all times. For me, sometimes I just react or respond without thinking about it. It’s wired into my brain, or something I choose to do because it’s the “only option.” However, for our Savior, He is intentional in all of His words and ways.
When He speaks this portion of the prayer, He is revealing God’s provision from past, present, and future being fully understood and fulfilled in Himself. We are reminded of the Lord’s provision of daily bread in the wilderness as bread appeared from heaven for the wandering Israelites each morning, with enough on the sixth day of the week to provide of the Sabbath the following day (Exodus 16:4-5). We see the Lord’s promise to give grain, wine, and olive oil to a barren land and a people who had turned to other gods and promises in Joel 2. And finally, we see the fulfillment of these promises in flesh, as Christ Jesus appears and reveals Himself as the bread from heaven, broken for our wholeness and crushed to provide what we need each day and beyond.
He is revealing Himself when providing for the masses of 4,000 and 5,000 as He breaks bread and distributes it. He is revealing Himself at the Last Supper as He does the same action, and finally gives the disciples understanding that He truly is the Bread of Life, born in the House of Bread (Bethlehem). In asking for our daily bread, we are not only asking God for basic necessities in life such as food and water, but we are asking for the One Thing that we truly need: Him alone. I encourage you to recognize that when you are praying “give us our daily bread” that you are asking to be aligned with the provision of what you actually need, not just on earth, but the truest and purest provision from the One who is our Daily Bread. And again, He loves to give it to those who ask. We just need to ask in order to receive it, or rather, receive Him. Amen.
Action: We all have our wish lists for birthdays, Christmas, groceries, etc. We all have basic needs and we all desire the more. In a way we all are similar to the younger brother of the prodigal son parable in Luke 15. However, we are also very similar to the older brother in that story, who had no idea that everything his Father had was his already, and all he needed to do was ask. I would encourage you today to simply come before the God who loves to bless you and ask, God who knows us, align us with Your provision of what we need.
