Lord, Teach Us To Pray - Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

• The Lord's Prayer is given to us in the Word of God in two passages, Luke 11, and Matthew 6

 
Matt 6:9-13 "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."

Luke 11:2-4 "And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3Give us day by day our daily bread. 4And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil."

• My God shall supply all your need - A child of God should learn to be content and to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need, knowing that all things work together for good to them that love God.

Php 4:10-13 "But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. 11Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 19But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

1 Tim 6:8 "And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."

Rom 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

2 Cor 12:9-10 "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."

• "Give us this day our daily bread" - Is God teaching us to pray for physical sustenance? In one sense, sure. There is a physical meaning to “give us this day our daily bread,” in that we can pray, “Lord, feed me”. Of course, we are dependent upon God for clothing, housing, and food, but what about Luke 12. God gives no guarantee that believers in the Lord Jesus Christ will always have a full bowl of rice. Whether we have enough to eat or not is immaterial. The big question that God wants us to face is: Are we spiritually nourished? when you pray 'Give us day by day our daily bread' you are praying for a daily dose of understanding of God’s Word. We pray that God would give you understanding of what you read, that it would bless you. So it is the Word of God that we need for spiritual life, strength and energy, and to get us through each day.

Luke 4:2-4 "Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. 3And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. 4And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."

Luke 12:22-23,30 "And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have store-house nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? 30For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. 31But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you."

• Bread of Life - Micah’s prophecy informs us that the Lord Jesus was to be born in Bethlehem, or the “house of Bread”. This should not surprise us because the Bible refers to Jesus Christ as the “Bread of Life” in John 6. The greatest desire of one who has been redeemed is to be obedient to His Master’s will as set forth in His Word, the Bible. The child of God has also discovered true contentment as 1 Tim 6 asserts, He is to be satisfied with food – the Bread of Life, who is the Lord Jesus Himself and His Word, the Bible. He is also to be satisfied with clothing – the robe of Christ's righteousness, the only covering for man’s sin.

Micah 5:2 "But thou, Bethlehem [house of Bread] Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."

John 6:35 “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

John14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

1 Tim 6:8 "And having food [the Bread of Life] and raiment [the robe of Christ's righteousness, the only covering for man’s sin] let us be therewith content”.

• Full versus Hungry - Throughout the Bible one encounters apparent paradoxes that reveal God’s dealings both with His people and the unsaved. These are the only two categories that God divides the human race into, saved and unsaved. Those who are physically nourished are actually spiritually famished; whereas those who were physically famished are sustained by God’s Word, the Bread of Life. The parable of the rich man and the beggar in Luke 16 is another vivid portrait of the dichotomy between the spiritual nature of the Gospel as contrasted with the physical necessities of life.

Psa 34:10 “The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.”

Luke 1:53 “He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.”

Luke 16:25 “But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.”

• He maketh me to lie down in green pastures - God is talking about His “sheep”, and the most nourishing physical food for sheep is tender, green grass. But what is the most nourishing spiritual food for God’s chosen people? It is His Word, the Bible. We believers “feed” spiritually upon the Word of God in its written form and upon the Bread of Life, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is, of course, identified totally with the Word of God, and we partake of His body after we become saved. Now, notice it is God Who makes the sheep lie down, which means He is the One Who gives them rest. “He leadeth me beside the still waters”, and the Hebrew words for “still waters” really mean “waters of rest, or quietness”. That is a beautiful word picture of the “rest” of God’s salvation. The “rest” for our souls from the burden of the law, sin and second death is something only God can give to us – we cannot attain it through any of our own efforts.

John 6:51 “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

Mat 11:28-30 “Come unto me [Jesus Christ], all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Heb 4:10-12 “For he that is entered into his [that is, God’s] rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 11Let us labour [study] therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. 12For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit [or the spiritual], and of the joints and marrow [or the physical], and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Rom 5:1-2 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Psa 23:1-2 "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters."

Heb 13:20-21 “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Psa 79:13 “So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will show forth thy praise to all generations.”