As Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, he included a petition for their earthly needs. He instructed them to pray, "give us this day our daily bread."
Food is basic for our survival, but in these words we are praying for everything we need. Martin Luther gave these words as an explanation in his Small Catechism: Everything that belongs to the support and wants of the body, such as meat, drink, clothing, shoes, house, homestead, field, cattle, money, goods, a pious spouse, pious children, pious servants, pious and faithful magistrates, good government, good weather, peace, health, discipline, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like. Luther captured the full breadth of this petition.
The word "daily" should also be of note to us. We come to realize how dependent Jesus wants us to be for what we have. We need to recognize each day that what we have comes from the gracious hand of God. Think back to the Israelites who were in the wilderness and had to live on manna. God only provided enough for them to live one day at a time. It was so that they would learn to depend on their Creator for all that they had and not worry about the next day.
For us who live with so much, it might be a challenge to pray this petition. I would hope that as you pray these words, you would not take for granted what God has given you.
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