I saw a restaurant named “Le Pain Quotidien.” Given the crowd filling the place, it must have been popular and it certainly smelled wonderful. But I wondered if having the word “Pain” in the name of your restaurant in an English-speaking city was a good idea. I also wondered how many people would have known this restaurant had borrowed its name from the Lord’s Prayer. “Le Pain Quotidien” in French means “The Daily Bread.” French-speaking Christians pray that God gives them “pain quotidien,” or daily bread.
When I first considered this petition, the meaning of “Give us each day our daily bread” didn’t seem really deep. It looked like an upfront request for God to give us the food we need for today. I am reminded of the Exodus when God fed the Israelites daily with manna—daily bread from Heaven.
Of course, the petition is also plural: Give US this day OUR daily bread. We don’t pray only for our bread but for bread for those who have none. As people longing to maintain the right relationships with others, we consider others’ need for bread: we share what we have with those who have needs. No one would be hungry if every person, business, institution, and government worked according to the purposes and principles of God’s kingdom.
There is another interesting matter. The phrase “Give us” is a present tense imperative in Greek. That gives it an ongoing or continuous sense. It means “Give and keep on giving to us each day our daily bread.” The phrase reminds us that we need God and His providing hand, not just this one time but day after day after day.
Our daily bread …
This all led me to consider how praying, “Give us our daily bread,” is a reminder of how much we depend on God’s grace daily. Like a small child, I am not nearly as self-sufficient as I think. Sure, the food I eat today was purchased with money Terri and I earned. But our capacity to work, purchase, store, prepare food, and so much more are all gifts from God’s hand.
After the Korean War ended, South Korea had many children who the war had orphaned. We’ve seen the same thing in the Vietnam conflict, in Bosnia, and other places. In the case of Korea, one orphanage was having trouble getting the children to sleep.
After years of warfare, these kids had trouble believing that anything about tomorrow was guaranteed, let alone food. Even though they had all they needed provided by the orphanage, they were restless and anxious at night and had difficulty sleeping, worrying about tomorrow. To help, the staff decided that every night when the children were put to bed, the nurses would give each one a piece of bread. The bread wasn’t intended to be eaten; it was meant to be a promise for tomorrow as they went to sleep. It was a “security blanket,” reminding them that more would come.
It seems to me that praying, “Give us this day our daily bread,” continues the previous request, “Thy kingdom come.” We aren’t saying, “May your kingdom come someday.” We are asking for tomorrow’s bread today. Please, Father, give us a foretaste of the messianic banquet of the future. We yearn for an appetizer of God’s grace, justice, and world-transforming peace. Which makes me think of ... well, maybe there is more here than I thought.
Please Pray For: My personal bible study and prayer life that I might remain faithful to the practices God has called me to.
Please Pray For: Pastor Alan Sielk and the people of St. Paul, Miami.
Please Pray For: the lost who are near us
Please Pray: for Terri, as she travels over the next month.
Please Pray For: Kathy Duitsman, who has breast cancer.
Please Pray For: Joshua Recker, whose tumors have continued to grow rapidly.
Please Pray For: Maxine as she prepares to give birth after several miscarriages.
Please Pray For: those who serve in this place as they enthusiastically tackle diverse ministries such as the altar guild, food pantry and serving our local school.
Please Pray For: Julie who is battling brain cancer and 4 additional tumors.
Please Pray For: Martia Thomas who is being treated for bone cancer.
Please Pray For: for William Isso, that God would Strengthen him.
Please Thank God For: The health of all the other congregations that worship in our facilities.
Please Pray: That God would forgive his people when we fail, though we do not deserve it.
Please Pray For: Tom Sheba who is on a ventilator.
Please Pray For: Joe and his struggles with addiction
Please Pray For: Those who struggle with housing needs.
Please Thank God For: all those who are out of work.