Christy and I were watching our grandkids last weekend…I drove to Dillons, Saturday morning and I bought muffins, fresh fruit and juice and was home in a few minutes.
It was quick, it was easy…it was deceptive…what had just happened?
“Well you went to Dillions…nothing cosmic about that?”
Yes but kings of old could not dream of this, neither could many in the world of today…food of every kind imaginable…in an instant, anytime of the year…it’s amazing.
I was struck this particular morning…by what I had experienced…as I walked to my truck, daily bread “plus” in hand…for some reason I was contemplating the miracle of this ready abundance.
I was amazed, that both at human logistics(how do they do that?) and at God’s provision(how does he do that?)
One phrase that is included in many prayers before meals is “For what we are about to receive make us truly grateful.”
Why not just pray “We are grateful?” rather than asking “to be made grateful?”
Because, I think, we often need God’s help to remember to be grateful…even when we know we should be…we forget to remember to be grateful.
This summer we are in a prayer practicum together…today, we go back to the Lord’s prayer.
Matt. 6:9-13 “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. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
In the New Testament, the word translated “bread” is often used to indicate a meal or food in general…so this is not just about “bread”…it is about what we need to live.
A prayer for “daily” food is a prayer for what we need today; it is a practical request…but it is also a request that is designed to provide ongoing perspective…to remember to remember.
The Lord’s prayer is about “how” not “what” to pray.
This prayer for daily bread is a constant reminder of our need and of his provision.
This is especially important for those who live in countries where the daily eating of food is commonplace rather than a rare occurrence…we can easily forget his provision and our need for him.
So we cease understanding how dependent we are and then we forget to be grateful.
Food just magically appears on Dillons shelves…how does that cause us to feel needy or grateful?
Besides, we are paying for that stuff…and the money we use to pay isn’t magically appearing in our bank accounts…we are working for it.
In Wichita, even the very poor have access to daily food…they can show up at the Lord’s Diner…two brick and mortar locations, and three mobile food trucks…they can eat really good meals, for free…every day.
It is called the Lord’s diner but unless you have eyes to see what is really happening…you will miss the “Lord” in the diner.
You can see nice and generous people…but where is the Lord in it?
The food chain in a modern society is quite complex.
It begins with those who grow and harvest the food at the “ground” level to those who transport it, process and package it, then sell it at local groceries or restaurants.
In New York City alone 52 million pounds of food are distributed every day
Worldwide humans eat over 17 billion pounds of food every day.
Where is God in all of this? How is he “providing” daily food?
Why should we pray for God to provide daily food?
We go to work…get money.
We do to Dillons or a restaurant and we get food.
Sure, he makes things grow…but it seems like the sun shines and the rain falls and the crops grow with or without his help.
Where is he in all this?
We all know we should be grateful and remember that we are dependent…but what does it mean for us to actually grow in a sense of dependence and gratitude?
Let’s look at a case study from Israel’s history…where daily bread was very obviously provided by God…so there was no chance of missing that fact.
Yet, even still, they had trouble being grateful.
MANNA:
Here’s the backstory in case you are not familiar with it.
Israel (as a nation) had been rescued from 400 years of slavery in Egypt, the entire event is called the Exodus.
The people frequently forgot all that God had done to rescue them when things became difficult for them.
In particular they had difficulty trusting that God would provide for their daily needs…food, water…even though he had been faithful over and over.
He was teaching them to trust…to turn from the deadening affect of demanding.
They had to follow a pillar of fire at night and cloud at day…when it went, they went.
When it stopped, they stopped.
They were very literally following his lead…but they often didn’t appreciate the fact of his leadership…or what he was trying to train into them.
Part of the nature of how God led them meant they had to rely on him to provide their food.
And he often provided in miraculous fashion, daily bread for them…they called it “Manna” which means, “What is it?”
It was so named because that is what they said when they first saw it lying on the ground…”What is that?”
It was a “seed like” food that had a sweetness to it…it could be baked and made into various kinds of meals.
Moses had to explain to them that it was the Lord’s provision…and that it came with some instructions.
The instructions were pretty simple…gather every day what you need for your family on that day.
What you don’t eat that day; discard it.
On Friday, gather enough for two days…so you don’t have to gather any on the Sabbath.
That’s it…and yet they had trouble with those simple instructions.
They would try to save some from one day to the next…but in the morning it would be spoiled.
Then they would wander around on the Sabbath looking for manna and they would not find it.
It wasn’t because the instructions were so complex…it was because they found it hard to simply trust God with daily bread (and other things)
They had to trust God to provide according to his plan not their own…they had to relinquish control of their lives to him.
They had to trust he would provide food tomorrow…daily bread…every day…and resist the urge to save some just in case one day God was not faithful.
God was not teaching them to become passive…they had to travel, collect, cook, work, and eventually they would have to go to war…but in the end if God did not provide…they did not eat, or live.
Daily bread=He was teaching them active trust.
Later they would complain that they were sick of eating manna…and they wished they could go back to Egypt…everything was better there…the food was better there.
They were formerly slaves in Egypt…how was that better?
The king had killed many of their children; they were in forced labor camps…how was that better?
So they complained because God would not provide…then they complained about what he did provide…they wanted to go back to Egypt.
Their collective memory was so very short…as is ours.
So we must continually do things to remember the important things that must shape our lives.
Two very important things that must shape who we are becoming:
- We must remember our dependency on God
- We must remember gratitude for God’s provision
Dependency and effort:
Just as grace is not opposed to effort but earning…so
Praying for daily bread does not substitute for work.
Dependency on God is not at odds with proactive, energetic, hard work…they go together in the lives of believers
Of course, there are those who are physically unable to work in order to provide for their own needs and to help with the needs of others.
But for most people, faithfulness to God means we must take responsibility for ourselves.
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody” (1 Thess. 4:11-12).
The phrase “work with your hands” does not apply only to those who engage in physical labor.
It applies to everyone, no matter what they actually do for a “living.”
The phrase “for a living” is interesting.
What most people do vocationally takes up a good bit of their lives.
These jobs take most of our waking hours for most of our adult lives.
It is also true that these jobs “pay” for our living, including housing, food, transportation, entertainment, giving away money, all of the things that form our lives.
So, we do work “for a living” in that it takes up a lot of our lives and it pay for what makes up our lives.
It is not tragic that people spend much of their lives working a job…though sometimes people believe that it is.
Work is a gift. We are designed to be productive and creative.
It is a gift to enjoy your work, but it is also a gift just to have good work to do whether you enjoy it or not.
It is not tragic to spend your life being faithful with your stewardship…it is tragic to waste your life on unfaithfulness…in whatever form it takes…whether it is working too little or working too much.
The founder of U-Haul:
Leonard Shone started U-Haul right after WWII when soldiers were returning from the war and moving all over the country…he figured he could make a lot of money renting trailers to them…he was right…he became a multi-billionaire.
He worked 16-hour days for decades…just to become rich and miserable and ultimately alone.
He was married 5 times, his twelve children fought each other and him…some hated him enough to have him kicked out of the company he built.
He took two of his sons to court and won a settlement against them.
He lived his final years in relative seculsion and I can assume miserable…and finally in 1999 at age 83 he killed himself.
So…he worked for a living…but it seems he failed to understand the purpose of his living.
But the balance of his obvious imbalance is not to try and work as little as possible…it is to remember what our lives are to be about.
Our lives are to be spent for God glory and one way we bring him glory is by working.
Some, maybe most, labor in vain because they do not do what they do for the glory of God and the good of others. “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17).
Consequently, prayer for daily bread does not substitute for daily work, it compliments it…it balances it, it informs it, it keeps it tethered to dependence and gratitude…it keeps “what we do for a living…anchored to the purpose of living.”
Paul wrote that if a man doesn’t work (and it is assumed that he could) then that man shouldn’t eat…(don’t help him be or stay lazy…it is not good for his life or his soul)
2 Thess.3:10
The principle in play here is that people are not helped by allowing those who can work…live life without working.
This person who refuses to work…shouldn’t pray for daily bread…until he is willing to work for it as well.
*By the way, though Paul said the lazy man must not be given food…he also collected funds for believers who were suffering from a famine.
The church was revolutionary then (and now) in taking care of people with real needs.
The balance here is that as you do what you do “for a living,” remember why it is that you live.
You live for his glory and for the good of others.
Praying for your daily bread could include praying for your work, your health, your boss, and your co-workers, all those things that are a part of “earning” your daily bread.
There is a sense in which you do “earn” a living, there is a higher sense in which nothing you have is earned; it is all received. “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Cor. 4:7).
Praying “give us today our daily bread”…is larger than those simple words…though you can use them if you like.
It is a recognition of our utter dependence…we must pray it, say it, we must remember it, believe it…because it is true.
We must be shaped in our hearts and minds by this truth…we depend on God…and we are easily fooled into thinking otherwise.
Many 1st century workers were paid one day at a time…and there was no Lord’s diner or social services to back them up.
This meant that a few days of illness or an injury could have tragic consequences.
This prayer for daily bread reflects this kind of short-term lifestyle that was common then.
Long-term planning is wise, but we do not have ultimate control over our future.
It’s not wrong to save money or put away food for a time of disaster or need. It is wrong to rely on our own planning and saving. Listen to what Jesus said in this regard:
“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:15-21)
Can you see how a daily prayer for daily bread can be a protective barrier against the folly of pursuing personal security over the pursuit of a rich faith in God?
It is a prayer of larger perspective…and this perspective should lead to more gratitude.
- Gratitude
How do you ask God to provide food when it is in your kitchen right now?
Does it seem strange to pray “Give me today my daily bread”…then get up and go to the kitchen and make some toast?
Maybe if you already have food…you should pray for something else…skip this part?
No…Remember that it is more than the content, it is the intent of these words…part of which is a heart of gratitude.
Again, for many people this is real prayer…they have no food in the fridge.
So if this prayer has been answered for you today, then pray not for something else, but rather pray right now for someone else.
Remember this is an “us” prayer, not merely a “me” prayer.
“Oh God, give us our daily bread!”
Do your brothers and sisters around the world have food today?
Are there not many who are hungry and crying out to God for food? Not just for food, but for peace, safety, and relief from war.
Some have it and some do not.
This is not just a prayer for self, this is a prayer for others as well.
Why do some people lack daily bread?
Most often it is because of the sins of those in positions of power in their countries.
Of course, there are droughts and famines, but lasting misery among large groups of people are not traced to “natural” disasters, but to sinful and corrupt leadership whose wickedness and ineptitude prolong and multiply the suffering…and the impact of these disasters.
So, pray not just for bread, but also for leaders in places where people are suffering. Part of Paul’s point in (1 Tim. 2:1-4).
As you pray for others who are desperate for daily bread, do not feel guilty that you have access to food.
Guilt is something to be confessed and left behind.
Do not live in guilt. It robs you of productive, forward movement towards God and others.
Let the needs of others produce gratitude in you. Be grateful for daily bread and do not take it for granted.
Let the needs of others produce a sense of stewardship in you.
If you have been given more than others, then along with that increased privilege comes increased responsibility.
Pray, be grateful, and then ask yourself, “What else does God want from me today?” Not to earn his grace, but to express it to others. “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12:48).
“Give us today our daily bread”…is much more than a token prayer for something to eat today.
III. Trust and Gratitude: the antidotes for a demanding heart
In a straight line it is only about 240 miles from Egypt to Canaan.
God took Israel on a longer route…teaching them to go when he said go and stop when he said stop.
When they arrived at the border of the Promised Land after months not years…they sent in spies.
Two spies said “let’s go, God is with us” ten said…”no way, we will die.”
The people listened to the 10 (majority votes are sometimes wrong)…and the result was that all adults would perish outside the Promised Land…so this set them on a 40 year wait.
They didn’t wander around the desert for 40 years…they spent a good bit of their time camped out right there in the Hill Country on the border…maybe 36 years till God said…”OK, enough, start moving again.”
Finally after all the people who were adults at the rebellion had died…they were allowed to go in.
Israel had turned what should have been a pretty short trip into 40 years.
What does this have to do with “Give us this day our daily bread”?
As we saw, God very literally provided bread on a daily basis for the entire 40 years.
It was phased out just before they went in to Canaan (Deut. 2
God was training his people to trust him.
Move when he says move, stop when he says stop…go in even when it looks like it could be dangerous.
Eat what I provide, trust I will provide what you need day by day.
Yet their hearts struggled to trust and to not demand.
Much like ours.
“God tell me what you are going to do and when you are going to do it!”
“Why would you allow this to happen?”
“God take this trouble from me!”
“God you are not fair, this is not how things should be done!”
“How can you be trusted when I am so unhappy?”
“I must worry about the future, somehow it will help.”
“I must make a choice that is not of faith because I am not confident God can or will give me all that I need.”
There are many different ways that we demand God meet our needs.
Demanding is the opposite of trust and gratitude.
Asking is good, demanding is not.
Small Infants cannot be taught that life is not about them…when they make demands fo,r the most part we meet those demands.
But as they grow…we begin the process of teaching them the life long lesson that “It is not about you.”
They still demand and demand…but wise parents know that if they are not adequately cured of their demanding hearts, if they grow up continuing to believe life is about them…they will be miserable as will the people around them.
God is a wise parent…he will not cater to our demands.
Our hearts are restless (and demanding) until they find their rest (and contentment) in him.
“Give us today our daily bread”
Seems, on the surface, like a mundane prayer…and like I said, if you have bread in the cabinet already…it can seem like a useless prayer.
But it is a prayer of surrender, of dependence and a prayer of gratitude.
Because much of the time…we want “yearly bread” or “lifelong bread”…guarantees that will allow us to escape the burden of trusting God.
And then eventually we want much more than “bread”…if we are starving…bread is wonderful…but the more he provides the more we tend to demand.
We have to continually stop…reorient…”God, would you please give us…this day…what we need?”
We must leave the demanding behind…demanding from God and from others.
We must continually close the gap on dependence and gratitude…keeping the simple reality in front of our minds and hearts…of God giving daily bread…is very important to making this happen.
Talked with the students at Camp last Thursday…they had lots of great questions.
I said that many of them had answers that came from some important larger questions.
- Who/What will I believe?…all live by faith
- Who will I become?…everything, all the time is shaping me.
- What do I want my life to count for…I will be dead…so what “now?”
You do not choose all that happens to you…you are responsible to choose your “shape”
There are many, many things that you and I can and must choose…in order to choose who we will become.
The Lord is giving us a shaping prayer here…no token, throw away prayer…”Give us daily bread”
This is “Oh God I desperately need you, shape my mind and heart to see this…and make me a person who is trading demanding for gratitude.”