Give us this day our daily bread. Matthew 6:11, NKJV.
Dear God, as we pause in Your Presence to study Your Word, we ask You to be our Teacher, and guide us into “all truth” concerning this passage. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Today we are going to be meditating on a portion of this model prayer that is of interest to all of us. Food. Food is a common denominator among all living creatures. Eating to live is something most people can understand and relate to. Unfortunately, among the many challenges people face in our world today is the fact that some have more than they can eat, while others do not have enough, and there are still others who have no food at all.
The question arises, who is to be blamed for this? Did Jesus teach His disciples to ask for the unattainable? Was this prayer meant only for His disciples in the first century, or is it a prayer for people everywhere, and in all ages? I believe that if we dig a little deeper we will find some answers to these questions.
” ‘ “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? . . . . Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things” ‘ ” (25,26,31,32)? Emphasis provided.
One thing we know for sure. God has provided enough food for all of His creatures; and, we are of great value to Him. Notice His gentle reminder of who we are: “your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” We are His children, and He has not neglected His children! Listen to the testimony of the Psalmist David: “I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread” (Psalm 37:25).
So what seems to be the problem? In Matthew 6 Jesus said something that is very revealing: ” ‘ “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” ‘ ” (33).
Could it be that we are seeking only the physical bread? If that is the case, according to God’s perfect plan, that is not enough! ” ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’ ” (Matthew 4: 4).
Perhaps another reason could be that we have left our main Provider (Genesis 22:14) and have put our trust in “broken cisterns” (Jeremiah 2:13)? Broken cisterns do not hold water. That would definitely be a problem.
Tomorrow we will consider other reasons.