Give us today our daily bread. Matthew 6:11
One morning our younger kids decided to get up early and fix breakfast for themselves. Tired from a grueling week, my wife and I were trying to sleep until at least 7:00 a.m. on that Saturday morning. Suddenly, I heard a loud crash! I jumped out of bed and raced downstairs to find a shattered bowl, oatmeal all over the floor, and Jonas—our five-year-old—desperately trying to sweep (more like smear) the gooey mess off the floor. My children were hungry, but they chose not to ask for help. Instead of reaching out in dependence, they chose independence, and the result was definitely not a culinary delight.
In human terms, children are meant to grow from dependence to independence. But in our relationship with God, maturity means moving from independence to dependence on Him. Prayer is where we practice such dependent ways. When Jesus taught His disciples—and all of us who have come to believe in Him—to pray, “Give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11), He was teaching a prayer of dependence. Bread is a metaphor for sustenance, deliverance, and guidance (vv. 11–13). We’re dependent on God for all that and more.
There are no self-made believers in Jesus, and we’ll never graduate from His grace. Throughout our lives, may we always begin our day by taking the posture of dependence as we pray to “our Father in heaven” (v. 9).
6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
INSIGHT
- What’s the “bread” you’re praying for today?
- How do you reveal your trust in God as you call out to Him?
Paul’s instructions to work “with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” (Colossians 3:23) flow from the foundational truth that in Jesus “there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all” (v. 11). Many thinkers, like Aristotle, argued that service to those with authority or greater social power is based on the inherent superiority of the person with more power. Instead, Paul said that while social hierarchies may persist prior to Jesus’ return, all believers are of equal dignity and worth under Christ (vv. 11–12). Doing work with a heart of service to Jesus, the true Lord of both those with greater social power and those with less (4:1), allows each person to serve with dignity and purpose.
PRAYER
Dear Jesus, You’re my Creator and my Sustainer. Please help me to trust in You. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen!!
Read: Matthew 6:6-13 (NIV) | Bible in a Year: Daniel 1-2; 1 John 4
