Me Want Food!
"Give us today our daily bread." (Matthew 6:11)
It's the only request for anything physical in Jesus' model prayer, and it lands with a thud in our well-fed ears. I doubt many of us have felt the need to ask God for today's food. In fact, it might be more common for us to ask, "Help me not to eat my daily bread so I can lose some weight."
If I didn't think I knew where next month's food was coming from, I'd be on my knees asking God for help. I clearly have different financial and security goals for my life than Jesus' prayer suggests. He assumes we're willing to trust God for our survival one day at a time. Are we?
In another passage, He tells His followers not to worry about food and clothes. God provides for the birds and flowers, He said; He will provide for you. I love these lyrics from Rich Mullins' song "Hard": "Well, His eye's on the sparrow / And the lilies of the field I've heard / And He will watch over you and He will watch over me / So we can dress like flowers and eat like birds."
Think: What percentage of your praying involves asking for material "wants" beyond what you need for today? I think it's cool to talk to God about whatever we want (if we're willing to hear Him say "no"), but can we get out of balance in our asking?
Pray: Ask God to help you to be thankful for all the good gifts He's blessed you with today. Ask Him to help you need Him more than any of them. And then ask Him to help you know how trust Him to meet your needs one day at a time.
Do: Calculate how many days worth of food you have in your house right now.
It's the only request for anything physical in Jesus' model prayer, and it lands with a thud in our well-fed ears. I doubt many of us have felt the need to ask God for today's food. In fact, it might be more common for us to ask, "Help me not to eat my daily bread so I can lose some weight."
If I didn't think I knew where next month's food was coming from, I'd be on my knees asking God for help. I clearly have different financial and security goals for my life than Jesus' prayer suggests. He assumes we're willing to trust God for our survival one day at a time. Are we?
In another passage, He tells His followers not to worry about food and clothes. God provides for the birds and flowers, He said; He will provide for you. I love these lyrics from Rich Mullins' song "Hard": "Well, His eye's on the sparrow / And the lilies of the field I've heard / And He will watch over you and He will watch over me / So we can dress like flowers and eat like birds."
Think: What percentage of your praying involves asking for material "wants" beyond what you need for today? I think it's cool to talk to God about whatever we want (if we're willing to hear Him say "no"), but can we get out of balance in our asking?
Pray: Ask God to help you to be thankful for all the good gifts He's blessed you with today. Ask Him to help you need Him more than any of them. And then ask Him to help you know how trust Him to meet your needs one day at a time.
Do: Calculate how many days worth of food you have in your house right now.
posted by Christopher Lyon at
8:18 AM
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