Next, Jesus teaches us to pray something incredibly practical: a request for our daily bread. For the disciples, this reference to Exodus 16 would have been clear immediately. After God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, they found themselves in the wilderness, with no food and no idea how they were going to survive. They complained to Moses, wondering if God had brought them into the desert to die, but every morning, God delivered bread—called manna—from heaven, and every morning, the people would gather only enough for that day. If they tried to keep extra, it would spoil overnight.
God was teaching His people to ask for what they needed each day. He could have given them a year’s supply, but because He wanted them to trust Him and ask for their needs, He chose to provide one day at a time. That’s still how God works. He rarely gives us all the direction, resources, and answers at once. Instead, like the children of Israel, we wake up each day and ask our good Father, “Would You provide what I need?” That includes food, finances, energy, emotional strength, wisdom, peace of mind, and everything else.
There’s a miraculous story about the Dallas Theological Seminary. A few years after opening, they faced financial trouble and almost had to close. Before their 1929 graduation, the staff gathered in the president’s office to pray that God would provide. Bible teacher Harry Ironside prayed Psalm 50:10: “Lord, we know you own the cattle on a thousand hills. Please sell some of them, and send us the money.” As they prayed, there was a knock on the door with a $10,000 check. One version of the story attributes the gift to a Texas cattle rancher who had sold some of his cattle. Another version attributes it to a banker from Illinois. Either way, God had prompted the gift and answered the prayer. Most of our prayers don’t get answered that quickly, but sometimes they do, and it’s a reminder that God hears us when we pray, and knows what we need.
Be Like A Child
As a dad of four children, I can say with confidence that kids have no problem asking for what they want. They ask for money, clothes, rides, toys, permission for friends to come cover, and answers to a thousand questions. If we’re honest, as parents, sometimes it can be exhausting! But remember that Jesus encourages us to become like little children. The Lord’s Prayer reminds us that we’re not bothering God—in a society that prizes independence and self-reliance, Jesus wants us to be like children and ask!
There’s an old joke about two brothers sleeping over at their grandmother’s house. While praying their nightly prayers, the first boy quietly asked God for a puppy. The second boy shouted his prayer: “PLEASE LORD LET ME HAVE A NEW BIKE!” The first boy said to his brother, “You don’t need to yell, I’m sure God can hear you.” His brother responded, “I know God can, but grandma can’t.”
Somewhere along the way, many of us just stop asking for things—from God or anyone. As we get older, we get more independent, and we begin to take pride in not needing help. Even when we do want help, we don’t want to inconvenience anyone or appear needy, so we don’t want to ask for it. Other times, we would be willing to ask, but feel we shouldn’t, because we know we got ourselves into the mess we’re in. If we deserve what’s happening, why bother praying about it? Scripture paints a very different picture. The Bible is filled with desperate people praying desperate prayers. Jonah prayed from the belly of a fish. Hannah prayed through years of infertility. David prayed while running for his life. Elijah prayed in the depths of depression. Peter prayed while sinking beneath the waves. The thief on the cross prayed with his dying breath. God has always welcomed desperate prayers.
That’s why I can’t stress this enough: You’re not bothering God, ever. Many of us assume God is interested in the really big things, like global crises and life-changing decisions, but not the ordinary concerns of everyday life. Does He really care about your doctor appointment, or your meeting this afternoon? Your car making a strange noise? Your anxiety? Your diet? Your court date? Your speeding ticket? Your parent-teacher meeting? The answer to every one of these is a resounding yes! Jesus said that God knows how many hairs are on your head. He absolutely cares about the small, seemingly insignificant things, and is never, ever annoyed by our requests. Every time we pray, “Give us today our daily bread,” we are acknowledging that we are receivers and He is the giver. He doesn’t roll His eyes when you come to Him again. He doesn’t become frustrated when you pray about the same thing for the tenth time.
If you were raised in a strict environment, you might envision God as an accountant, carefully measuring out the bare minimum and nothing more. But God is not stingy—He is a loving Father who delights in giving good gifts to His children. Think about how your life has gone. Have you really only received the bare minimum? Of course not. God gives us enough oxygen to breathe, but also extra to laugh. He gives us food to survive, but also chocolate to satisfy our sweet tooth. He has filled our lives with blessings we do not deserve, and often ones we never asked for. Sometimes His gifts arrive in extraordinary ways, but more often they come disguised as ordinary blessings—a good cup of coffee, a conversation with a friend, a warm bed, a paycheck, or another day with the people we love.
That certainly doesn’t mean we’ll always get what we want. There are always three potential answers when we ask something of God: yes, no, and not yet. It’s unrealistic to always expect a “yes,” and a “no” can be incredibly disappointing. But sometimes what initially feels like a “no” is actually a “not yet,” and we just have to be patient and have faith that God’s answer is always right.
So get comfortable asking, and be honest about what you feel and what you need. God already knows every thought and every need before we ask, so there’s no reason to be nervous. Prayer is not about convincing God to care, either—He already does, and He delights in hearing His children call out to Him.
God Will Provide
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story in 1 Kings 17 of the prophet Elijah surviving a famine. Israel was in the middle of a drought that would last for three years, and God told Elijah to go hide by the brook Cherith. God promised He would provide for him there, and He did—ravens brought Elijah bread and meat every morning and evening, and he drank water from the brook. I once heard a preacher say that he imagined those ravens flying over King Ahab’s palace, stealing food from the king’s table, and bringing it to Elijah. I can’t prove that’s how it happened, but the thought makes me smile. Regardless of where the food came from, Elijah had birds delivering his meals twice a day, and if that’s not an example of God’s provision, I don’t know what is.
I can also tell you countless stories from my own life of how God has provided for me when I couldn’t figure out how He would do it. Sometimes it came through a new relationship that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Sometimes it was a random phone call at just the right time, or a check I wasn’t expecting. Other times it was a friend who said exactly what I needed to hear. Looking back, I realize that each time, I felt a little like Elijah. I didn’t know where provision would come from, but God always knew.
Sometimes we have to be honest with ourselves and admit that something we’re calling a need is actually a want. God knows which things we truly need, and He promises to always provide them. Yes, we can pray for our desires too, but we also have to learn to be content. That’s what Paul said in Philippians. “Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”
Years ago, I heard Pastor Joseph Beasley share a story about a woman who attended his dad’s church. She was a faithful Christian, but her husband was agnostic. For 35 years, the wife persistently prayed for her husband, and every Sunday, when asked for a prayer request, she would ask the church to pray, too. One Sunday night, she returned home from church to find her husband already asleep, so she went to bed beside him. In the middle of the night, she woke up to her husband yelling, “That’s Him! That’s Him!” She thought he was having a nightmare, but when she tried to calm him, he said, “It’s Jesus! He’s standing at the foot of the bed!” He looked at his wife and said, “I need the Lord!” so they knelt down and prayed together, and he committed his life to God. 35 years after she’d started praying, God answered her prayers.
If you’re in a season where everything seems to be running low—your money, your strength, your patience, your hope—I know it can be scary. I don’t know how God will provide for you, but I know God has never failed to come through. David said, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” God has a thousand ways to provide that we have never even considered. So as you pray this part of the Lord’s Prayer, be honest about what you need. I suggest memorizing Philippians 4:19: “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
Practice:
Tell God the truth about what you need today—physically, emotionally, financially, or spiritually.
Prayer:
Father, thank You for being the One who provides everything I need. Today, I choose to trust You—not just for the big things, but for the small, everyday needs too. You’ve never failed me before, and You won’t start now. Amen.
