Give us this Day our Daily Bread
We know from life experience that tomorrow is promised to no
one. In fact, the very next breath is not promised. We have all seen the
brevity and futility of the pursuit of long term prosperity while ignoring the
needs of the moment.
God self-exists and operates in a different kind of economy
and provides accordingly. In the western world, it is almost impossible
to go hungry with all the various government programs and church outreaches in
almost every city. There are obviously pockets of poverty everywhere. Still God
provides for His own children…and as a result, even non-believers get benefit
from the largesse of Christians. Food kitchens run by churches or religious
non-profits never ask the beliefs or religion of those they serve. They just
feed people. They give grace to the humble.
This is the kind of attitude we, who are called by His Name,
should have towards our Heavenly Father, Who provides for our every single
need. Nothing we have on this earth, is completely because of us. Every
opportunity we have to earn or purchase is because of the goodness of God. He
lined up that job for us. It could have gone to someone else, but He placed you
and I there. James, the half-brother of our Lord Jesus tells that “Every Good
and Perfect Gift is from above and comes from the Father of Lights, with Whom
there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17).
The Lord Himself said in
Matthew 6:31-34 "
In Psalm 37:25 we see God’s shepherd boy David, under
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, write “
In all of this, we note a few things in order to be able to
pray WITH UNDERSTANDING for our daily bread:
- * Rich, poor or in between: we are nothing without
God giving us good the health and mental awareness to obtain and hold down a
job and the employer to pay us.
- * Rich, poor or in between: whether
non-believer or not, everything in this world is owned by Him and we are
objects of His general grace, love and compassion for all people.
- * God always provides for His people and
eventually none every goes hungry, even those in the middle of a jungle
somewhere. He is our Provider.
So we pray:
Heavenly Father, most kind and gracious and loving God
in Heaven, thank You that You are a good, good God Who gives good things to His
beloved. Lord, You are the Creator and owner of all things. Everything in this
universe belongs to You and without You, nothing lives. I am supremely grateful
for Your provision for not just my life, all through my lifetime, but for
providing for my family, loved ones and friends. You owe us nothing but
You gave rain, which falls equally on the just and the unjust, on those who
hate you as well as those of us who love You. You have bread to the hungry and
meat for the tasting. You give crops which never fail from soil which belongs
to You, yet which You anoint each day with the morning dew. Your sun caused the
crops to rise when the rain has watered. Thank You for the cycle of life which
feeds now just our families but those around the world, who are not as
fortunate to manage the land You have given Your people temporary stewardship
over. Thank You for the jobs which provide the service for which we are
paid, so that we are able to not just house our families, but give them food to
eat and milk to drink. Oh most Heavenly Father of Lights, You send down
delightful things from Heaven, things we do not deserve but which You bless us
with any way. There are no word to express our gratitude but to thank You for
daily sustenance, through all these things mentioned above. There are nothing
we can say except “Thank You, Lord”, in Jesus’ Most Powerful Name, amen.
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