50 Days of Prayer – Day 8
“Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11 (NKJV)
We’ve all had those days when we wondered how we were going to make it. 2020 was a year like that, wasn’t it? A comedian made the comment that in a year that stood for perfect vision, no one saw what was coming! How do you get through really, really bad days? Where do you find hope when life gets hard? Maybe you’re experiencing one of those days right now. It could be the loss of a career, the betrayal of a spouse, an unexpected death of a loved one, or you just feel stuck and can’t seem to move forward. What do you do?
Jesus gave us a practical and powerful way to make it through those really bad days. In the model prayer, He taught His disciples to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” This is a prayer for daily provision. In those seven little words, three are specific to the immediacy of the moment – this day our daily bread. The principle is clear: When tomorrow is too much, pray, “Just for today, Lord!” “Just for today, Lord, give me the strength I need. Just for today, Lord, give me the wisdom to make the right decisions. Just for today, Lord, give me the courage not to give up. Just for today, Lord, give me the patience to hold on. Just for today, Lord!” We call this “Just for today prayers.” These kinds of prayers come from a heart broken by the pain of sorrow and great loss.
When we pray, “Give us this day, our daily bread,” we are acknowledging that God is our sustainer and provider. We are humbly admitting our dependence on Him for our daily needs. It is prideful to think that we are the sole provider of our own needs. This should encourage us, though, to know that we are not alone. God is with us. God cares and God can meet every need. Paul affirmed that in Philippians 4:19 (NLT) when he wrote, “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”
If you follow the pattern of The Lord’s Prayer, you’ll see that verse 11 begins the second half of the prayer. The first half begins by focusing our hearts affection and our minds attention on God, His name, His Kingdom, His will, His glory. Beginning our prayer with that focus strengthens our faith to believe God for every need and gives us confidence when making our requests. In verses 9 and 10 the pronouns are all related to God, Your name, Your Kingdom, Your will. In the remainder of the prayer in verses 11-13, the pronouns are related to us – “give us”, “forgive us”, “lead us”, “deliver us”. You’ll find a similar pattern in the Ten Commandments. The first part begins with God and our duty to Him, while the second half is related to our neighbor. Both are contrary to a culture that begins with thinking first about ourselves, our needs and our wants. The Bible teaches us to put God first with the promise that when we do, everything else will fall into place. In fact, in the same chapter that Jesus gave us this model prayer, He says, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33 (NIV)
What are you facing today? Begin with God, affirming His glory and goodness. Then with the confidence of a child beloved by his father, ask God to meet whatever need you are facing today. “Just for today, Lord.” He loves you and listens to your heart cry. Record those requests in your prayer journal and as He meets those practical and personal needs, be sure to record when and how He did it. You’ll find your faith growing as you do.