Giver of Daily Bread
"Give us today our daily bread." (Matthew 6:11 NIV)
When Jesus, the Bread of Life, taught the disciples to pray, "Give us today our daily bread," He was building on precedent.
The manna God rained down on His people en route to the Promised Land was nothing if not daily, and it was surely given by God.
The manna was "given": it literally fell from God's storehouse by His hand. It wasn't something the people could make for themselves. They could collect it, but they couldn't create it.
The manna was "daily": God promised to supply it for each new day and asked His kids to trust Him for that provision by only gathering as much as they needed for that day...not to try to store it up. (And knowing they'd try anyway, God built in a VERY short shelf life on His daily bread.)
The manna was "bread": here we are not so much talking about the actual composition of the manna—a white substance that resembled coriander seed—as we are about its nourishing, sustaining, supplying powers. It fed. It strengthened. It energized.
My problem (well, as it relates to daily bread as given by God, anyway) is that, in my natural self, my prayer goes something like this: "Oh, God, enable me to make sustenance for myself so that I can control it and don't have to rely on you. Help me to store up months' and years' worth so that I don't have to trust you day by day. And instead of bread, I'd really prefer something more like cake...something sweet and appealing."
But of course this is not how God works. All the lessons taught by God's provision of manna in the wilderness—lessons later reinforced by Jesus' model prayer—inform a different kind of request.
Oh, God...
"Give me" (for I cannot supply it for myself...it is only from Your hand)...
"This day" (today, not yesterday, not tomorrow, but the day I'm living right now, which is itself a gift from Your hand)...
"My daily" (I trust You to know and supply the amount I need for this 24 hours)...
"Bread" (lasting nourishment for mind, body, and soul that will strengthen me for service to you and to my family and community).
Amen.
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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!