HOW TO PRAY (PART 4)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.’”

Matthew 6:9-11

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In yesterday’s third devotion of this series on the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer Jesus gave His followers to pray, we found two specific requests levied toward God, our heavenly, holy Father.

The first was for His kingdom in heaven to come to earth. This was followed by a petition for God’s will to be done on earth, something that will only happen when everyone who prays this prayer allows God’s will to be done within them.

Today, we continue to build on these requests by adding another, one based on our need for God’s provision. It’s a simple appeal that goes like this:

“Give us today our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11

On the surface, this may look like a longing for food, for something tangible that we can grasp and place in our mouths for nourishment and sustainability in life. It is that, there’s no doubt about that but it’s far more than that as we will see through the very words of Jesus Himself.

But first, let’s look at the physical angle of these words because we shouldn’t overlook it.

God is the great Provider and meets needs according to His will (remember we have already prayed for His will to be done). When the Israelites were in the midst of their forty day trek across the vast desert wilderness on the way to the land God had promised them, they reached a point where they were running out of food. Such was their fear of salvation that they grumbled and complained, thinking perhaps God had led them into the wastelands from Egypt to perish. Perhaps they should have been praying for God to provide instead of railing against Him and Moses, their appointed and anointed leader.

God could have allowed His people to die out there because of their lack of faith but that wasn’t His will for them. Instead, He sent manna and quail from the heavens and the Israelites had more food than they could handle. God gave them their daily bread in their time of need. He’s done it through the history of mankind.

Later, the people had run out of water and feared death by dehydration. Again, they grumbled and complained like before and again, God did not send judgment but rather water gushing from a rock after it was struck by Moses’ staff. Again, God had provided sustenance for His people in their time of need.

Think about how many times, God has done this for you. How many times has He provided your daily bread, even when you may have not even prayed for it?

I think we tend to take it for granted but everything God provides is a reason to give thanks and show Him our gratitude, particularly when He gives us our daily bread and sustains our bodily health.

But as I mentioned, this goes beyond food and drink. Go back to Chapter 4 of Matthew’s Gospel for a moment and you’ll find this exchange between Jesus and Satan:

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. The tempter came to Him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”  Matthew 4:1-4

For as long as I have been a Christian, I have seen and read these small devotional books which bear the title, “Our Daily Bread”. I have always loved that title because it speaks to the spiritual nourishment brought to the reader as they read a scripture verse and then a thoughtful, well-written devotion which contains real life application of the verse in a personal way. I pray that the words the Lord gives me here in The Christian Walk satisfy the daily spiritual diets of those who check in and read. For as Jesus said to the devil, quoting the Law in Deuteronomy (8:3):

“Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

You see, our health in the worldly life is dependent on two things: (1) maintaining our bodies by eating proper food and drinking the very water that sustains and (2) tending to our spiritual well being through the word of God. Both are provided to us by our Father in heaven who through His Spirit brings His kingdom to us here on earth and ensures His will is done.

Have you received your daily bread from God today?

If so, then give thanks.

If not, then pray for it. Jesus showed us how.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com