“Give us today our daily bread.”
(Matthew 6:11, NIV)

When the people of Israel were traveling through a vast desert and were hungry, God gave them “daily bread” (Exodus 16:11-31). It was a flake-like substance called manna. Each morning they had to gather a supply for that one day. If they tried to keep enough for the next day, it rotted. But on the day before the Sabbath, they were to gather enough for two days. God didn’t want them to have to work on the Sabbath.

Manna was a daily provision, sufficient for any need but impossible to hoard. God could have provided for their hunger any way He chose. Why would He choose this way? He was teaching them to depend on Him every day, one day at a time (see Deuteronomy 8:3).

Give us today our daily bread. Out of the entire Lord’s Prayer, only this one petition covers the wants that normally fill our prayers. Doesn’t this “one wish” seem small and unsatisfying? After all, most of us aren’t worried about starving, at least not today.

We want more. We want enough to feel secure. We want enough to relax a little in what we have. God wants the opposite. He wants to keep us resting in Him alone. He will not grant His children any security outside of Himself.

Why? He knows that a constant, close relationship with Him is the key to our happiness and well-being. Daily dependence teaches and forms that relationship. None of us ever graduate from His school of dependence. He will not let you hoard everything you need, and you cannot see the future. Any security you think you’ve grasped is only an illusion. He will always and forever be your only security and your only supply. Even in the wealth and abundance of heaven, He Himself will be the only source of every blessing.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Our Daily Bread
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