Give Us Today Our Daily Bread
Matthew 6:1-34
1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Day 1
Give Us Today Our Daily Bread
Start this day by praying: “Our holy Father in heaven, give us today our daily bread.” Present your needs to your loving Father.
Our holy Father in heaven, give us today our daily bread. Give me Your daily bread. I bring my needs before You right now…. Thank You for Your love. Help me to trust in Your provision and faithfulness.
In the previous lesson, we learned that our new life needs to be governed by the will of God and in surrender and obedience to Christ. We learned that we cannot do this in our own strength, but we need to remain in Jesus and rely on the work of His Holy Spirit. By relying on the Holy Spirit, we are well nourished and enabled to grow as His dear children. This is why Jesus is telling us to pray “Give us today our daily bread.”
What is the daily bread that we need? If it was left up to us, what would we define as our daily bread? Would our daily bread be things that are good for us and that we really need, or would we also want things that can harm us, starve us, and lead us away from God?
When Jesus was on this earth, He was feeding on the “bread of heaven”–doing His Father’s will and the work He was called to do. The spiritual food Jesus consumed while here on earth is the same spiritual food that we need in order to grow in His Kingdom as His dear children.
John 4:34
“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”
We can learn from Jesus’ example how to be properly fed in His Kingdom. In this lesson, we will look at how doing God’s will is our food/our daily bread and our reward.
Practicing Righteousness
Matthew 6:1
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Practicing righteousness here means to do God’s will: to do the right things that are pleasing to God and in accordance with His law.
Jesus gives us instructions on practicing our righteousness in the right manner. As we carry out God’s will, He asks us not to draw the attention of people. He does not want us to try to impress others and seek their praise. If we view our right doings as the result of our own goodness or abilities, we will easily fall into bragging about it. But we have learned that we cannot do anything apart from Him. All the praise belongs to Him.
We also see in this text that our heavenly Father has prepared a reward for every right deed and the work we have done in His will. Practicing our righteousness in the right way is like sitting down to eat. God feeds us and sustains us. Our Father in heaven is the giver of life and He qualifies as the rightful and supreme giver of everything we need as our daily bread. Our Father knows the ins and outs of our soul and He knows what will be the best nourishment for us to thrive.
When we are feasting on the praise of other people and hunger for their approval, we miss out on the Father’s true food. The honor that we get from people does not compare to the rewards that our heavenly Father gives. This junk food of human praise that we eagerly consume gives us only a momentary enjoyment; it can lead us to unhealthy cravings, spoil our appetite, and rob us of our Father’s right and good rewards.
When we practice our righteousness, Jesus wants us to refocus on the true Giver and true food that He gives. Jesus wants us to turn away from all unhealthy cravings and ask Him to “give us today our daily bread.”
Jesus continues with some practical examples of how to practice our righteousness. I believe that they were not chosen randomly but were carefully selected for His sermon. These practices are: giving to the needy, praying, forgiving others, fasting, storing our treasures in heaven, being mastered by the Lord and not by money, and refraining from worry about our lives. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus talks about many other commands and ways that He wants us to do His will. We are wise if we obey them and follow Him.
Giving
Matthew 6:2-4
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Jesus is teaching us to give in the way our heavenly Father does. When He says “do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,” He shows us that He wants us to give because it is pleasing to Him. It is not about the “left hand” knowing what we’ve done. In other words, other people need not be consulted or influence us in our giving. Our only motive for giving should be His will. He gives the best out of His riches, so we who are rich in Him are called to freely give and care for others. When we follow our Father’s way of giving, we can learn and experience what this godly giving is like. This kind of giving results in a true food that is nourishing. Giving that is done in secret is being done in intimacy with our Father. In that secret intimacy, He is there sharing His bread with us. His full attention is lavished on us and we are encouraged and perfectly fed/rewarded by Him.
Revelation 3:20
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
Our Father in heaven is the Giver. EVERYTHING belongs to Him; He possesses it ALL. He is loving and the perfect Giver. He longs to give us perfect gifts and He wants us to imitate Him in our giving.
From whom in your life are you seeking approval?
Why should we consider God our only giver?
What did you learn from Jesus’ teaching about giving?
How are you doing with your giving?
Praying
Matthew 6:5-8
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
In the same way that our giving should be practiced in intimacy and in secrecy with God, we are called to pray in intimacy and close fellowship with our Father in heaven. Prayer is another way for us to come to our Father and be fed and satisfied. This is why praying to be seen by others does not lead us to be rightly fed. Trying to impress others with our prayers and seeking their praise hinders us from receiving our Father’s rewards. Our Father seeks our true and undivided heart towards Him.
“Seen by others” doesn’t mean that we should not pray corporately. We are called to pray together as the body of Christ. Praying together can be as intimate and in right fellowship with God as praying alone. We see this in Matthew 18:20. However, when we pray corporately, we can be in the same danger of trying to be seen by others and seeking people’s praise.
Prayers are the matter of heaven. Asking for our needs is a big part of prayer, but prayer is much more than asking. Our Father knows best what we need. Because He is the Giver, Jesus wants us to know that before we even ask for “our daily bread,” His Father has provided and prepared good gifts for us. Before we make a move to ask, He already has made the move to give. Our prayers proceed from our heavenly Father before we open our mouths to pray.
Sometimes we pray as if we are just doing another daily routine without actually trusting that God hears us and will respond. Sometimes we “pray” as a last resort because we don’t know what else to do about our needs. Our heavenly Father wants us to trust that He will hear us, meet us in our prayer, and answer us. When we spend time alone, in secret, with our living God, it builds our trust that He is truly giving Himself daily for us.
And there’s still more! It’s not just that the Father will show up and pay attention to us. Jesus also wants us to know that His Father is waiting for us to come to Him and have deep fellowship with Him. In His love for us, He desires to be with us. He expects us to come empty-handed. As the only source of true wealth, He wants to bestow on us first His love and then all He has prepared for us in His goodness.
Prayer is less about us asking and more about Him giving and revealing Himself to us. Prayer is communion with the living God that fulfills all of our needs–physical, emotional, intellectual, etc. And it is this communion that empowers us to see who God is and what His Kingdom is all about. In prayer, we are empowered to obey and follow God. In prayer, in communion with Him, and by receiving from Him, we discover our true needs and His interest for us. We begin to see our true needs ourselves. And so, we learn what to ask. His will becomes our will.
Knowing that He seeks us in our prayer will change the image of God that is most often confused with the image of pagan gods. We will know that we are not approaching a god with no ears like the pagan gods, or a god who expects many requirements to be fulfilled before we can even think to ask for anything. We don’t need to repeat things over and over and use all the words that we think might be necessary to move God to answer us. No word from our mouth, no thought in our minds can escape Him.
In prayer, we are not coming to a god made out of human hands or human ideas, but we are coming to the living God. He is the One who created us and deeply knows our needs. He is the One who deeply cares to feed us with His daily bread. We are coming to the King of heaven and all the universe. He is the One who desires to share all with us and is preparing and training us for our inheritance of His Kingdom.
As He builds His Kingdom in us and trains us in our new life, Jesus tells us what to pray for. We find this prayer in the center of His sermon.
Matthew 6:9-13
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.”
How can this prayer become the guide for praying for the needs you have and the needs of the people around you?
What insight did you gain about prayer?
What insight did you gain about our Father as a giver?
Find a place where you can be alone with your Father in heaven and spend some time in prayer, knowing that He is waiting for you and has prepared a table for you to nourish you and have fellowship with you.
Has God brought to your attention someone in need? If so, exercise your righteousness by obeying His will of giving.
Day 2
Give Us Today Our Daily Bread
Start this day by praying: “Our holy Father in heaven, give us today our daily bread.” Present your needs to your loving Father. Ask the Lord to teach you to care for and give to the needy. Ask Him to teach you how to pray and be in fellowship with Him.
Our holy Father in heaven, give us today our daily bread. I bring my needs before You right now…. Thank You that You daily bear my burdens! Lord, please teach me how I can care for the needy. Guide me in my giving. I long to be in fellowship with You today. Continue to teach me to pray.
Forgiving
Matthew 6:14-15
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
One of the ways we are nourished by God is by carrying out God’s will of forgiving others as Christ forgave us. We are not alone in our new life in God’s kingdom. Jesus wants everyone to come and enter that new life. As we have received the grace and mercy of Christ’s forgiveness, we are called to extend forgiveness to others.
Forgiveness is a key to unity and love between us. We need each other because we are created in God’s image. As God is one, He is calling all believers to be one. This is why we are called the body of Christ. Without forgiveness, the body can’t function properly because parts of the body are deprived and rejected. By forgiving and loving each other, the whole body of believers is nourished as we come together in unity to do God’s will.
How can Jesus’ forgiveness of your sins help you to forgive others?
Do you know anyone who needs your forgiveness now? Obey Christ and forgive them.
Forgiving others is obeying God and His will. One of the rewards we receive by forgiving others is God’s forgiveness of our sins. Forgiveness is one of the prayer requests in the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” In the next lesson, we will talk about this subject.
Fasting
Matthew 6:16-18
16 When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
What does “Give us today our daily bread” have to do with fasting? When you fast, don’t you go without food and abstain from “daily bread” (material food) for a few days?
How can fasting fall into the category of being fed when it means to give up food?
We know that our body needs food. When we abstain from food, we start to hunger. When we stop eating, our body goes into the “panic mode” of craving food because it needs to be fed to stay sustained and survive. It is the same with our soul. It needs to be fed with spiritual food to stay alive.
Just as our bodies can’t go without food for long, our souls can’t go without Jesus for long. If we don’t eat, we experience physical pain; if we don’t eat for a long time, we get sick and eventually starve to death. If we don’t “feed” on Jesus, we get spiritually weak and sick and eventually die.
How do you “feed” on Jesus?
How often do we need to “feed” on Jesus to stay spiritually healthy? Every day! We do this by obeying Him: by spending time in fellowship with Him, by giving, by praying, by offering praise, and by surrendering to all of His will. “Give us today our daily bread” means “Give us Jesus.” Jesus imparted His life to us and only with Him can our lives run. One way of feeding on Jesus is by fasting. Fasting is one aspect of Jesus’ will for us.
If you have practiced fasting, what did you learn?
When we understand that Jesus is our daily bread, we can look at fasting as being a “spiritual feast.” In times of fasting, we put physical needs aside to “feast” on intimacy and fellowship with Jesus. We seek His presence and His will. We humble ourselves by denying ourselves and acknowledging our need for Him. As we come into that closeness with Christ, we move our hearts away from things that distract us from Him. He can do the amazing work of purging our sins from us, transforming us, and resetting our focus on the mission He has for us. Jesus does work in us that we cannot do ourselves. Sometimes He does work that we may not even know needs to be done. While fasting, we get a deeper understanding of His Kingdom in us and our position in it. We get a clearer understanding of our true and full dependence on Christ. We see that He truly is our daily bread.
If we understand that Jesus is our daily bread, we will approach fasting with a heart that longs for God and His will only. We will be strengthened and renewed in our spirit, even though fasting is often used by God as a time of discipline and hard lessons.
When we come into fellowship with the living God and are open to being humbled, crushed, molded, and changed, it should be far from us to seek the praise of others and impress them with “what we can endure for God” through fasting. Practicing fasting will lead us to our daily bread, Jesus Christ, to submission to His Lordship, and to the willingness to be transformed into His image. While fasting, we are reminded that apart from Him we can do nothing!
John 15:5
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
How can fasting help you to understand your need for daily bread in fellowship with Jesus?
How can fasting benefit you?
If you have never fasted, ask Jesus to guide you and teach you about fasting.
Day 3
Give Us Today Our Daily Bread
Start this day by praying: “Our holy Father in heaven, give us today our daily bread.” Present your needs to your loving Father. Ask Jesus to guide you in forgiving others today. Pray that God will help you to obey His commands.
Our holy Father in heaven, give us today our daily bread. Please give me Your daily bread. Father, I bring my needs before You right now…. Thank You for Your forgiveness and help me to be quick to forgive others today. Remind me of Your commands and help me to obey them as I go about my day.
Our Treasures
Matthew 6:19-21
19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Our earthly homes are important: we work to provide ourselves with a home and with material resources for our physical needs. We store our “treasures”–provisions for the future or times of need. When we come to Christ, we accept the heavenly home in His Kingdom that He has provided for us. In that new home, we find a true and lasting security. He gives us the privilege to store treasures in heaven as we live for His Kingdom and obey His will. Not only do we get spiritually fed by doing God’s will, but we also store treasures in heaven.
Jesus wants us to have the proper perspective on our earthly treasures and our heavenly treasures. Our earthly treasures–as much as we need them now–will perish eventually and we will not need them when we die. There are reasonable things we need while here on earth; it is ok to provide for them, and we should do so because the Bible teaches us to. However, we run into problems when we focus on storing earthly treasures in excess because we are consumed with worries of our well-being here on earth. Our hearts inevitably become mastered by our treasures and money. Jesus is teaching us that storing treasures in heaven is of utmost importance.
Since Jesus is our daily bread, we have access through Him to all the treasures of heaven. As we remain in Jesus daily, His will becomes ours and we learn how to advance His Kingdom here on earth. We use God’s resources to lead people to Christ and make His disciples. God’s resources are available for our personal needs and to bless others.
By freely giving ourselves to Jesus and to the work of God’s kingdom, we will store treasures for ourselves in heaven. These finest treasures will be waiting for us in perfect condition. We may not understand what they really are until we are in heaven, but we can have a taste of them now through any provision we receive from God. And if we have treasures in heaven, our heart will be for heaven also!
Let Jesus sustain us. Let Jesus be our treasure, our daily bread that nourishes and multiplies.
Malachi 3:10
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
What does it mean to “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven?”
Where have you been storing treasures for yourself?
What value are you placing on God’s Kingdom?
Ability to See
Matthew 6:22-23
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”
If we are not seeking Jesus as our daily bread, we will lose the sight of Him and His will for us. By obeying Jesus and doing His will, we will see clearly because we will be walking in His light. Our spiritual eyes will be healthy and well trained. We desperately need Jesus’ light, His teaching, and His will for us. Anything short of His will produces fake light in us. Our spiritual eyes become unhealthy when we do our own will. We think we see with our “light,” but Jesus calls that light darkness. We think that we see; this is great deception, or great darkness.
Ask Jesus to examine your spiritual eyes and to correct and sharpen them so that you keep Him in your sight. Come back in surrender to Him and do His will.
Day 4
Give Us Today Our Daily Bread
Start this day by praying: “Our holy Father in heaven, give us today our daily bread.” Present your needs to your loving Father. Ask Jesus for His light to guide you today. Ask Him to help you use His resources for advancing His Kingdom.
Our holy Father in heaven, give us today our daily bread. I bring my needs before You right now…. Please guide me in Your light today. You have given me many resources, and I thank You for them. Help me to use Your resources to advance Your Kingdom.
When I was preparing for my end exam at the university, I realized that it was going to cost more than I could afford. The gentleman who sponsored me to study in Germany offered to loan me the money I needed. It was the first debt I ever came to have. Even though there was no deadline to pay it back, I was very nervous and decided to save that money to pay it back as soon as possible. It took me almost eight months to do so! I was so relieved when I told him that I would be able to pay off the debt in the next week.
However, as I was praying, the Lord asked me to use this money to help pay the fees for a worship conference for a couple of my friends. This created a serious dilemma for me. I wanted to obey God and listen to His will, but I also wanted to be released from my debt as soon as possible. In addition, I felt embarrassed to ask the gentleman to give me more time. I knew that the easiest thing to do would be to pay off my debt right then, but I also knew that to obey God was more important. Finally, I took the money and paid for the conference. Feeling sick to my stomach, I went to see that gentleman to tell him that he would have to wait for the money a little longer.
I still remember walking into the living room with embarrassment. But the gentleman turned around, happy to see me, and immediately said: “Lidija, something wonderful has happened! I can’t wait to tell you!” While he was praying, the Lord impressed on his heart to not take the money and that this money was all mine!
I explained to him that I didn’t have the money anymore and told him what I did with it. We both were so overcome by God’s love and care that we kept hugging each other and laughing! It was a time of rejoicing in God.
I have so many stories of God’s amazing and unexpected provision as I have obeyed His will. But it also pains me to say that I still worry about my life, and I still choose to do my own will and let money and the things of this world master me.
Psalm 23:5
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
My Master
Matthew 6:24-34
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the
fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Can you say with confidence that your Father in heaven knows what you need? Or do you mistrust Him?
We have learned that our Father in heaven is the true Giver. Our Father in heaven possesses all the things of this universe. Our Father in heaven is waiting to give to us from His riches–He knows perfectly what we need. And our Father in heaven is giving us the most precious daily bread, Jesus Christ. He also allows us to choose the provider of our daily bread. We have the opportunity to choose our Giver and Lord.
Jesus makes it very clear that if we choose our Father in heaven, then He alone is our master. We CANNOT serve Him and also serve money. We have to choose where we will put our trust: in Him or in money.
We know that our money, as hard as we work for it and think it is giving us worth and security, can be lost at any moment. Our means of providing it can also be lost at any moment, and this can cause us constant worry about tomorrow. As we’ve discussed already, eventually our money will perish. There is no solid security in our money, and it can’t ever be our true provider–it is only the tool we use to buy things. The Lord gives us the ability to earn money, but He is above money.
Jesus tells us that if we choose our Father in heaven as our master, He will give us true security. We will be sustained now and forever! We can relax and not worry! Our Father, as the Good Master, knows that we need food and drink and clothes for our body. But more than that, we need Him and His Kingdom.
Do you find yourself worrying about the future and if you will be provided for?
Think about a time in your life when God provided for your needs.
If you are fully trusting Jesus and have chosen Him as your master, does this mean you will never have any physical struggles and will live in prosperity?
Obedience to Christ and doing His will leads us to a better understanding of the everlasting life that is already in us. If God imparted that eternal holy life in us and has provided everything we need for it in accordance with His heavenly riches, what are the demands of this earthly life that cause us worry? To seek God’s Kingdom is more than trusting Him to provide for our physical needs. Our new life in Christ does not end with our life here on earth–it entails fully knowing God in the most intimate way and goes on for all eternity. We must come to see our life from that eternal perspective and start to live in the fullness of life He has prepared for us in harmony with His kingdom.
Matthew 16:25
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.
Matthew 10:28
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
John 10:10b
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Let us first seek Him and His Kingdom and His righteousness. Let’s allow Him to be our master and trust that He knows all our needs! Let Jesus be our daily bread. Let us go in secret to our heavenly Father with open hands to receive what He has prepared to give us so that we can grow and mature in our new life in Christ. Let us come to understand that our lives are no longer solely defined by this physical life here on earth. We have new life in His kingdom as dear children of God. Even though our earthly body will die and perish, our eternal life is secured for all eternity to the glory of God!
And food and drink and clothes will be given to us as well!
Thinking on this whole lesson today, please take a moment to go on your knees before our Lord Jesus, who is offering Himself as our daily bread. Start by asking “Our holy Father in heaven, give us today our daily bread: give me Jesus.”
Look into your heart and see what you have been feeding your soul on.
Who is your master? Are you mastered by your money and your worries about tomorrow and the future and if you will have enough?
Do you believe your heavenly Father knows what you need and is waiting for you to come to Him so that you can receive?
Would you surrender to His Lordship today?
***
In this lesson, we learned how to pray “Give us today our daily bread” as we reflected on the Sermon on the Mount. There is much more to learn about this line of the Lord’s Prayer through continued study of Jesus’ sermon. By looking at the complete teachings of Jesus in the gospels, we could learn even more–we would never exhaust the layers of meaning of this prayer.
My hope and prayer for you is that you would continue to learn how to pray “Give us today our daily bread” by obeying Christ and living in fellowship with Him and our Father in heaven. Only in our true fellowship with God can we learn How to pray.
BIBLE STUDY
INTRODUCTION
Your Kingdom Come
Sermon on the Mount
Bible Text, Matthew 5-7
Lesson 1
Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed Be Your Name
Lesson 2
Your Kingdom Come
Lesson 3
Your Will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven
Lesson 4
Give Us Today Our Daily Bread
Lesson 5
And Forgive Us Our Debts, As We Also Have Forgiven Our Debtors
Lesson 6
And Lead Us Not Into Temptation, But Deliver Us From The Evil One
Lesson 7
I Am Invited.
What Is My Response?
ALL LESSONS
Your Kingdom Come
Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
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