God's Glory Church

“Give us this day our daily bread.” — Matthew 6:11

One Saturday morning, our young children decided to get up early and prepare breakfast for themselves. And my wife and I tried to sleep at least until seven in the morning after a hard week. But suddenly there was a rumble in the kitchen. I jumped up and rushed down the stairs to find a broken bowl, scattered oatmeal, and our five-year-old Jonas desperately trying to clean up the goo from the floor. The children were hungry, but decided not to ask for help. They wanted to be independent. The result was not a culinary masterpiece.

In earthly life, children, growing up, should become independent from their parents. But in a relationship with God, maturity means moving in the opposite direction: from independence to dependence on Him. One of the areas where we practice this dependence is prayer. When Jesus taught His disciples (and all those who believed in Him) to pray: “Give us this day our daily bread” (Mt. 6:11), He taught the prayer of dependence. Bread is a metaphor for care, salvation, and guidance (vv. 11-13). In all this and much more, we depend on God.

There are no self-sufficient Christians. And we will never stop needing Christ’s grace. We will begin our entire lives each day by accepting a dependent position before our Heavenly Father (v. 9).

What “bread” are you praying for today? What does your hope in God show when you turn to Him?

Lord Jesus, You are my Creator and Protector. Please help me to trust You.

Author: Glenn Packiam