The Lord’s prayer tells us that we’re involved in something cosmic. It’s way bigger than each of us – God’s kingdom, his majesty, his perfect will being worked out in all creation. And yet at the same time it tells us about a loving Father who meets the needs of every one of his children.
Matt 6:11 – Give us today our daily bread.
This line is both a powerful comfort, and a firm knock to our selfishness. Only a few verses later in Matthew 6: 25-34, Jesus will expand on this short request. Your Father cares for you. He is so very willing to meet your true needs. Speaking to people who had no guarantee of food on the table any given day, he assures them that today is taken care of – there will be enough for you. All the resources in the universe are his – the same power that made a feast for 5,000 is ready to see to it that you are satisfied. Fed, warm, known, loved and content.
At the same time he says to leave tomorrow’s needs for tomorrow. If you’re worried about tomorrow’s resources, your concerns go beyond the limits Jesus has set. Tomorrow you can ask again, and your needs will be met just the same. He says nothing about luxuries – not cake or chocolate or Netflix or even coffee! He so often chooses to give more than we need, yet he also wants to teach us that with him we can be so much more satisfied and joyful with so much less than we think.
What’s more, Jesus tells us to ask for ‘our’ daily bread. Have you been given more than you need while your neighbour is struggling to scrape by? Perhaps your Father in heaven means to answer your neighbour’s prayers through you. Perhaps he means to remind us that in our prayers we so often fix on ourselves but forget those around us. Pray for our needs as we pray for yours, and our Father in heaven will answer.
