The first three petitions of The Lord’s Prayer focus on God’s glory: Your name. Your kingdom. Your will. The remaining petitions focus on our needs: Our daily bread. Our debts. Lead us not. Deliver us. This transition does not suggest competing or conflicting priorities in prayer. It is not that we address God’s priorities and then address our priorities. In all of these petitions, God occupies the place of priority.

• When we pray about God’s name, kingdom, and will, we express devotion to God.
• When we pray for bread, forgiveness, leadership, and deliverance, we express dependence upon God.

When our needs become the subject of prayer, God remains the object of prayer. When prayer moves from God’s kingdom to our kitchens, we are still praying about God’s kingdom. Our bread is God’s priority. The model prayer teaches us to make God’s priorities our priorities. In the process, we learn that we are God’s priority. As we focus on ourselves in prayer, the Lord sets the agenda. The first thing Jesus teaches us to pray for is daily bread.

Some people regulate faith as a private matter outside the public discourse about real-world issues. Disciples respond by praying, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Christians are people of faith. But our faith does not permit us to distinguish between the spiritual and secular, eternal and temporal, biblical and practical. As spiritual people, we pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We also pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

Christianity is not pie in the sky. It is bread on the table. The one who saves our souls feeds our stomachs. The divine hand that clothes us with righteousness clothes us with clothes. The God who gives us eternal security gives us our evening meal. The God of the hallowed name, coming kingdom, and sovereign will, is the God of the daily bread. Every word in this petition is significant:

• “Give” is divine generosity.
• “Us” is mutual concern.
• “This day” is spiritual confidence.
• “Our” is personal responsibility.
• “Daily” is constant supply.
• “Bread” is every physical need.

What does it mean to pray for daily bread?

A Confession of Need

In scripture, bread illustrates multiple spiritual realities. Consequently, this petition has been interpreted in various ways throughout church history. But it is best to read this verse plainly, simply, and literally. In this petition, bread means bread. “Daily bread” is the food we need day by day to survive. At the same time, “bread” is more than food. Bread is food, and then some. It symbolizes our physical and material needs. Physically, bread produces strength to wake, walk, and work. It stands for all the physical things we need in life. It is also a symbol of the material things we need, from shelter to employment to transportation.

This petition teaches us to pray for bread, not cake. It is addresses need, not greed. We should pray for necessities, not luxuries. It is offensive that Jesus teaches us to pray for something as basic as bread. It is a prayer for all disciples, not just poor disciples. The more you have, the more you need to remember that bread does not automatically appear on our tables. Bread comes from an outside source. If bread is not provided, we will die.

• We pray for bread because we are creatures.
• We pray for bread because we are sinners.

We pray for bread to learn to live contingently. Proverbs 30:7-9 says, “Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.” Deuteronomy 8:3 says, “And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

• God provides for our physical needs because he cares about us. God also provides our physical needs to highlight our spiritual needs.
• Our stomachs go hungry without God. Our souls starve without God.
• God not only offers satisfaction for our physical needs; God offers salvation for our spiritual needs.

This is why the Father sent the Lord Jesus Christ. John 6:35 says, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

An Affirmation of Trust

When we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” we announce that God is able to supply whatever we need. We also affirm our trust in God to meet our needs. “This day” and “daily” – teach us to trust God confidently and constantly.

Trust God confidently. Jesus teaches us to pray for bread “this day.” We do not ask for bread next week, next month, or next year. As we pray for bread today, we express our confidence in God to take care of tomorrow. You should work hard, plan wisely, and save aggressively. Proverbs 6:8 instructs the sluggard to consider the ways of the ant: “She prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.”

• It is right to be wise about tomorrow.
• It is wrong to be worried about tomorrow.

Matthew 6:34 says, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Worry borrows sorrow from tomorrow. It is like sitting in a rocking chair. There is motion, but there is no progress. Confident trust overcomes sinful anxiety.

I don't know about tomorrow, I just live from day to day 
I don't borrow from its sunshine, for its skies may turn to gray
I don't worry over the future, for I know what Jesus said 
And today, I'll walk beside him, for he knows what lies ahead 

Trust God constantly. “Daily” only occurs in the New Testament here and in Luke 11:3, the parallel of The Lord’s Prayer. It is not used in classical Greek. It seems the apostles coined this term. There is debate about how the term should be translated. It is generally accepted this is the proper reading: “daily bread.” We are to regularly and repeatedly come to God in prayer, trusting he is always able to meet our needs.

In the wilderness, God provided manna from heaven to feed the children of Israel. They were only permitted to get enough for the day. If they stored up food, it spoiled overnight. We are to trust God for daily bread, not special banquets. Psalm 68:19 says, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation.”

Your prayer life should be like a trolley, not a car. You fill up the car with gas and drive until you run out. Then you go to the station and refuel. This is how many of us pray. Above the trolley, there is a pole that touches electrical wires. As long as the trolley pole connects to the wire, the trolley has power to travel. Don’t wait for your tank to get empty before you pray. Stay in touch with the power source! 

A Duty to Work

Matthew 6:26 says, “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” This is not a license to live irresponsibly. God feeds the birds. God does not put worms in their nests. God provides for his children. But divine provision requires personal responsibility. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 says, “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”

As you pray, you must be willing to be a part of the answered prayer. Without God, we cannot do it. Without us, God will not do it. Work as if it all depends on you; pray as if it all depends on God. Ephesians 4:28 says, “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”  To pray “Give us this day our daily bread” is to refuse to eat stolen bread. It is “our daily bread” in the sense that we do not take bread that belongs to someone else.

• You do not have to lie to get your needs met.
• You do not have to cheat to get your needs met.
• You do not have to hurt people to get your needs met.
• You do not have to burn bridges to get your needs met.
• You do not have to use others to get your needs met.

God will provide. But you must do your part. Get a job! Do honest work with your own hands. If you do all you can do, God will do what you cannot do. Psalm 37:25 says, “I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his seed begging for bread.” We should give ourselves to good work and godly work. Bread is strength. Eating food produces physical strength. It is wrong to use that strength for your benefit and not the benefit of others. It is worse to use that strength for the flesh, the world, and the devil and not for God. 1 Corinthians 15:58 says, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

A Willingness to Share

The Lord’s Prayer teaches us to pray personally and corporately.

• We pray for ourselves.
• We do not pray by ourselves.

As we pray to the heavenly Father, we pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ. This mutual concern is expressed in the first petition that addresses our personal needs. We do not pray, “Give me this day my daily bread.” We pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” You need bread. Your brothers and sisters also need bread. You can bring your needs to the Father in prayer. You cannot pray for your needs without praying for the needs of others. Philippians 2:4 says, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

To receive bread is to be willing to share bread. Acts 20:35 says, “I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” It is a blessing to receive bread. It is a greater blessing to give bread. God blesses us to make us a blessing to others. Basil the Great said, “The bread that is spoiling in your house belongs to the hungry. The shoes that are mildewing under your bed belong to those who have none. The clothes stored away in your trunk belong to those who are naked.”

Genuine conversion is evidenced in your willingness to share your bread. Matthew 25:40 says, “Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” James 2:15 says, “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?” 1 John 3:17 says, “But if any has the world’s goods and see his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does not love of God abide in him.” Do not measure your life by what you receive, accomplish, or possess. Measure your life by what you contribute for the good of others and the glory of God.

If I can help somebody as I journey along 
If I can cheer somebody with a word or a song
If I can show somebody he's traveling wrong
Then my living will not be in vain 

An Offering of Thanks

One Sunday, we slipped off to breakfast instead of going to Sunday School. My father’s new organist accompanied us. After we were served, we bowed to give thanks. When the prayer was over, the organist was already eating. He explained, “I bless my food on Tuesday for the whole week.” The statement was hilarious. The sentiment is not.

Daily provision demands daily praise. “Give us this day our daily bread” is a prayer request. Thanksgiving is embedded in the petition. “Give us” acknowledges divine generosity.

• You may work for bread.
• You may buy bread.
• You may find bread.
• You may share bread.
• You may win bread.

Every crumb is a grace gift. James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” The one who provides for the family is called “the breadwinner.” God is the ultimate Breadwinner. Psalm 145:16 says, “You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.”

This is why it is a Christian practice to pray over every meal. Eating triggers exaltation. You should give praise as much as you receive bread. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” The smallest blessing is a good excuse, a great reason, and a golden opportunity to give glory to God.

My dad used to tell about a man who tossed the half-eaten bag of food toward the nearby trashcan and missed it. When he pulled off, birds swooped down and picked at the bag. A man walked by and saw the birds and the bag. He picked it up, poured the food on the ground, and threw the bag away. The birds came down and had a good meal. My father told this story to say that God will open bags for you.