Why Do Christians Pray, “Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread”?
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Editor’s note: This is the fifth installment of a series on the Lord’s Prayer, line by line. Rev. Campbell Markham is a Presbyterian minister in Perth, Australia.
“Give us this day our daily bread.” — Matthew 6:11 (NASB 1977)
I have a horror of leaving any food on my plate.
I inherited this from my grandmother, who was a girl in the Depression. Food was scarce. Her father, a country schoolteacher, had to shoot the occasional ’roo (kangaroo), and the family piano was sold for groceries. “We ate the piano,” Grandma used to say.
Born in 1970 into a most prosperous nation, I’ve never had to skimp on a meal. I’m surrounded by food and my doctor knows it.
The ancient Israelites, having fled Egypt into the Sinai wilderness, were surrounded by a barren waterless desert. They cried out for help, and God gave them manna: bread rained down from heaven each morning. Manna means “what is it?” It was white and sweet, and just enough fell for each day. On Friday a double portion fell so the Israelites wouldn’t have to gather manna on the Sabbath.
When we pray for our daily bread, we express our dependence on God.
So every morning the Hebrews left their tents, praying that God had granted their daily bread. In this way God trained his people to depend on him each and every day. We express this same dependence when we pray, “Give us today our daily bread”:
Heavenly Father, You are the Sovereign Lord. All I have comes from your hands. I so easily forget how I need you for life and breath. I forget to thank you and instead repay your kindness with idolatry and rebellion. Give me today what I need to survive today. And I face superhuman challenges. You must sustain me every second. Give what I need to love you today with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength; and to love my neighbor as myself. Tomorrow, I will come to you again. Amen.
In the Lord’s Prayer we pray for more of Jesus—the bread of life.
Moses explained the purpose of the manna:
And [the Lord] humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna…that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. (Deut. 8:3)
Jesus quoted these words when the devil tempted him:
But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matt. 4:4).
When we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” we pray not just for physical sustenance but also for God’s word, which strengthens our spirits to hallow God’s name and do his will. We pray above all for more of Jesus, for he said,
“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)
