Our Daily Bread
Our Father - Part 3
Sunday, March 20, 2022
Exodus 16:2-4; Matthew 4:2-4; Matthew 6:11

Give us this day our daily bread.
Matthew 6:11

Listen to this week’s sermon here:

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For nearly 15 million (10%) Americans and 2.37 billion people globally (30%) who face food insecurity in some form, the prayer for daily bread is truly a desperate cry for their very survival. [1] Most of us, however, probably think very little about it. When we ask where our next meal is coming from, it is often a question of which restaurant we will go to or who will deliver rather than a question of whether or not there will be any food available for us at all. Perhaps from our places of relative comfort, this prayer for daily bread should trigger something more.

First, it should make us grateful and remind us that even when it seems like we can take care of ourselves, God is the only true source or provider of our needs, physical or otherwise.

Second, for those who worry less about daily bread, this prayer is primarily a prayer for all whose basic needs are not met. Remember, the prayer is that God would give “US OUR” daily bread, not give “ME MINE.” As we saw in the opening line of the prayer, the “our” is all inclusive. If there is anyone in the world for whom this line of the prayer is not answered, God invites… even compels us to be the answer to this prayer on their behalf by providing for their need.

Finally, even for those of us who have a pretty good handle on our basic survival needs, this prayer calls us to a spirit of dependence. When we pray for our daily bread we must ask what is truly enough for the day. Our culture is not very good with the idea of “enough.”

We want to have more than enough. We want a stockpile in the bank. We want to make sure our investments and retirement funds are secure and even growing. We want fully stocked pantries, refrigerators, and freezers. It is difficult to pray for daily bread while we are busy stocking up for a lifetime. It is even harder to pray when we find ourselves throwing out the bread that has molded because we had too much.

This week, as we pray for our daily bread, allow the Spirit to invite you into the question of what is truly enough and where you may be holding onto or striving for too much. This isn’t just about food, its about all of our needs and wants. In our culture of overconsumption, perhaps our prayer should sound a little something like this...

“Give us the grace to know when enough is enough” or “Help us to say ‘No’ when the world entices us with so much. In praying this prayer, we are schooled in desiring what we really need rather than that which we desire.
- Adam Hamilton, The Lord’s Prayer

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An Invitation to a Lenten Breath Prayer Practice -

As we sit with the “Our Father” Prayer Jesus taught us, I invite you to take one line each week and use it as a breath prayer throughout your day. Whenever you feel overwhelmed by difficulty or by gratitude, by pain or by joy, take a moment to breath a line of this sacred prayer. You may want to set a silent alarm on your watch or phone to remind you to pause and pray at least 3 times each day. Regardless of when you do it, be sure to let the prayer truly fill the depths of your soul. Repeat it, sit with it, meditate on it, until it becomes part of you. Allow the Spirit to transform your heart and mind as you pray.

Week 3: Breath Prayer Exercise