Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

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.

Your kingdom come, your will be done....

We begin the Lord's Prayer by focusing on God. As we direct this pray to God, we are reminded that we are praying with the whole church in mind. We are stating that God is in heaven and has the power to influence what we might bring in prayer.

I move forward now to the next part of The Lord's Prayer, where we say: "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." We are praying for God's kingdom to become more of a reality among us. God's kingdom is not some territorial domain, but for God's rule to come into our hearts. We are asking that God would reign through us and that we (and others) would experience the full force of the kind of life that God desires for us. We are praying that we not only would live a righteous life, but also be able to be of influence where we can make this world a better place.

This request is connected to doing God's will. It's easy for us to want our will to be done. We might have everything laid out precisely in terms of what we should do, but in the end, we are directed to leave it up to God. I believe that reaching spiritual maturity involves surrendering my will to God's will. Jesus desired that we would place everything into the hands of God and seek what God desires for us.

Where do you see any in-breaking of the kingdom today? Outside of The Lord's Prayer, do you pray often for God's will to be done in your life?

The Lord's Prayer

I begin a series of posts over the next several weeks on a prayer used by Christians throughout the world. It is a prayer that we have from Jesus himself, commonly known as "The Lord's Prayer."

The prayer came from Jesus teaching about prayer. The modern day prayer that we use in worship is a combination of the versions of this prayer we find in Matthew 6 and Luke 11.

The prayer begins, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name." As we begin this prayer note that it it is with the word "our" and not "my." We become aware that we are praying with Christians throughout the world. While it may be a solitary prayer if used alone by oneself, we cannot forget our connectedness with other Christians.

We are praying to God in heaven. We are focusing our attention on the one who has the ultimate power to make changes in our personal lives and in our world. By beginning the prayer in this fashion, we remember the majesty and glory of the one to whom we are addressing.

Then, we continue with the phrase: "Hallowed be your name." We are asking that we would keep God's name holy. Respect for God's name is not only in whether or not we use God's name carelessly in our speech, but also in how we honor God by our entire way of life.

Notice here that there isn't the inclusion of our needs right at the start; rather, we are focusing on our relationship with God and honoring God in our lives. How many of us start our prayers with our needs before affirming and honoring God?

The Lord's Prayer is to draw us into closer communion with the God who has made us. We are to use this prayer since the very words came from Jesus himself.

What Is Your Response to Answered Prayer?

When we pray we normally expect an answer. We seek to live by the power of Scripture, more specifically the promises that Jesus made about prayer in his name. We might believe strongly that God does answer prayer.

Something critical comes into our lives and we feel the need to pray. We pray in faith and God answers our prayer. By chance, it is exactly how we wanted it to be answered. That is well and good; but what is your response to having received an answer to your prayer? You might declare: It was what I expected, and you go on with your normal routine in life. Or it is what I deserved, so there is no reason to think anymore about it.

Let's look at the story of Jesus healing a blind beggar. The blind man calls out for help from Jesus. Jesus asks him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The man stated that he wanted to see again. Then we read: "⁴²Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.’ ⁴³Immediately he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, praised God." Luke 18:42-43

The blind man felt the need to follow Jesus and glorify God.

I wonder how we respond to God answering our prayers? Is it that we become a stronger follower of Jesus? Do we spend time glorifying God by our words and actions? It gives us cause for reflection.

Praying in Seclusion

As we begin the season of Lent, we do think about our piety. For many of us it might mean giving something up for Lent or it might mean cultivating certain disciplines where we have a direct focus.

The Gospel reading for Ash Wednesday directs us to our piety in regard to prayer. Jesus said, "When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words." Matthew 6:5-7

When we pray we don't need to make a public display of it. We don't need to appear to be more pious than someone else. We don't need to "boast" about our praying.

At best, we are directed to keep it private so that there is no pretension. The form here is just as important as the substance. The form keeps prayer anchored in a humble attitude, where we realize we are just "beggars before God," to use an expression from Martin Luther.

The same goes for the number of words that we use. It doesn't depend on how many words we use or how often we repeat a certain phrase. It's all a matter of being sincere within ourselves.

How is your posture in prayer? Is there anything that needs to be changed to keep you reverent and humble as you pray?

The Prayer of a Righteous Person

Have you ever felt like you have underestimated the power of prayer? Have you ever felt a limit or cap regarding for what could be accomplished through your prayer? Maybe you have limited your prayer to only what interventions you have seen happen in the past.

God has given us prayer that really doesn't place restrictions on what can be done! It's almost like we and God are a team, hoping to accomplish something that is worthwhile for our well-being and for advancing the kingdom of God.

I would like you to consider the words the writer James. "The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective." James 5:15 The context here is that James is talking about those who are sick. They should call for the elders of the church to pray over them. Then, we have these words that a believer's prayer is "powerful and effective;" that is, to bring about healing.

We as people of faith can make an impact on ourselves, the lives of others, and also perhaps the direction of our nation through our prayers. Dare we limit what God can do?

Wondering Why Your Prayer Was Not Answered?

There is no limit for what we can pray. We might get so carried away with prayer that we pray to win the lottery or have the opportunity and the wherewithal to travel to exotic places.

Such prayer is not praying for what we need, but what we want that is for our pleasure.

In the book of James we read: "You do not have, because you do not ask. ³You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures." James 4:2-3

What we pray for may be downright foolish according to God's wisdom. It might look well in our own eyes, but not good for us from God's vantage point. We all have to wrestle with the disappointment that comes when we have fine tuned a prayer and there is no response from heaven.

When God answers prayer, it is a gift that is given to us. God as the giver would desire us to have what is for our edification, well-being, and growth for the kingdom.

If we find that we have an unanswered prayer, perhaps we need to examine the content of that prayer. Are we asking for something that is only for our pleasure? I must admit that sometimes there might be a fine line between what is good for us and what is for "spending on our pleasure." Here it is left in God's decision for what is best in our lives.