Our Daily Bread

When giving instructions to His disciples concerning how to pray (Mt 6:1-13), in verse eleven (11) Jesus said, “Give us this day our daily bread.”(Mt 6:8). What exactly did He mean? He had already instructed them on the sermon on the mount, not to worry about their daily needs, …“Take no thought what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink..”  (Mt 6:25-33). He said, “For your Father knoweth what things you have need of before you askl Him.” (Mt 6:32). 

And He went on to say, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all of these (physical) things will be added on to you.” (vs 33)  So, why is the “daily bread” request in the Lord’s prayer? Could it mean that He was referring to something different than actual bread?

There are other references to “bread” in the gospels where Jesus was obviously not referring to physical bread. After talking to the lady at the well, when the disciples returned from shopping, Jesus said, “I have bread that you know not of, my bread is to do the will of God that sent me.” (Jn 4:34). He was telling them, “My food is to give eternal life, to accomplish My work.” He then went on to talk about the harvest, “Do not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’ Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.” (Jn 4:35). 

Later, He said, “For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst.” (Jn 6: 33-58). 

So, the reference to “bread” in the Lord’s prayer must have a different meaning than the physical bread that we eat on a daily basis. So our daily bread must have something to do with what we need on a daily basis in order to accomplish the will of the Father. 

There is also a verse in the Old Testament, which says, “I have given you the power to create wealth.” (Deut 8:18). God does not supply us with money, but He does give us the ideas, the plans and visions that we need in order to create solutions for our financial increase.

So, I am inclined to believe that the “daily bread” that He’s referring to is the revelations, the solutions, and the open doors necessary for us to not only have all that we need, but also to be able to help others. Our ‘daily bread’ in essence amounts to the substance that we need to fulfill our purpose: the will of God. It’s the inspiration, the goals, the ideas and the revelations needed for us to make a difference in this world. “My bread is to do my Father’s will.” (Jn 6:38-46).

So, “give us today our daily bread” may very well mean: “Give us today the solutions, the inventions, the revelations to bless, to improve and to create a better world. Help us to find a need that we can meet, to find a problem that we can solve, help us to reach out to someone that we can lift.”

That’s the ultimate will of God, that “all may be saved” (1 Tim. 2:3-4, 2 Pet. 3:9). If the whole purpose of our life, condensed by Jesus Himself, is for us to love God and to love our neighbor (Mat 12:30), then our “daily bread” should not be simply to provide our own needs, but to make us a blessing to our neighbor as well. We are to deny ourselves and love one another. Those are Jesus’ commandments.

So, “give us this day” what all we need to accomplish Your will; the opportunities, the possibilities, the divine appointments, and the gifts necessary to expand Your will and Your purpose, the ‘good news’ to others.