Daily Bread

I wonder how much time and energy we all waste in worrying about the future – about provision of finance, a place to live, things to wear; about our health; about our family; about whether we will be able to cope in certain situations, and so on. Jesus’s instructions to His disciples about this are very clear – DO NOT WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW!

In the prayer known as the Lord’s Prayer, He taught us to pray: “Give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). Asking God daily for what we need shows that we’re looking to Him to provide, and trusting Him to do so. It encourages relationship with Him and reliance on Him, both of which are vital if we’re to walk closely with Him.

Bread was the staple food in those days, and Jesus tells us in John 6:35: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” He is the answer to every need we may have, physically, emotionally and spiritually. If we feed daily on the Bread of Life, we will not be lacking in any of these areas. We feed on Him by being still in His presence, bringing our needs before Him, and receiving from Him by His Spirit and through His Word.

There’s a precedent in the Old Testament for the people of God to look to Him daily for provision. When the people of Israel had been rescued from slavery in Egypt, they had to follow God’s instructions to collect manna daily to feed on. They were to gather it early, before the sun became too hot and the manna melted, and they were to collect just enough for each day. If they tried to keep some until the next day, to save having to get up early to gather again, the manna went rotten and was inedible!

There are lessons for us in this. We need to make feeding on Jesus our first priority every day. It’s no good spending a long time reading the Bible and praying one day, and thinking that will be sufficient for the next day as well. We need to come to Him daily, asking Him for all we need, feeding on Him and receiving from Him. He’ll provide for us each day, and we’ll learn that we don’t need to worry about tomorrow.

Prayer: Lord, please forgive me for worrying about the future when You’ve clearly taught us to ask You each day for what we need, and not to worry about tomorrow. Please give me today my daily bread. I’m trusting You for all I need, physically, emotionally and spiritually. In Jesus’ name, Amen.