Matthew 6:11 “Give us this day our daily bread.”
The next thing that Jesus says to ask is “give us this day our daily bread” in Matthew 6:11. He is not speaking of a loaf of bread, He is referring to all of our needs, physical, financial, spiritual, emotional, and recreational. We are assured that our heavenly Father will take complete care of us. Jesus says in Matthew 6:25-26 that we are not to worry about life, eating or drinking. We are not to worry about what we will wear. He reminds us that our heavenly Father feeds the birds and then He says “are you not worth much more than they?” As believers, we can always count of God to provide for us and to assume full and complete responsibility for our needs as we obediently follow Him (Phil. 4:19). When our resources run dry and we feel like we cannot go on any longer, the Father continues to provide for us in ways that we never could have dreamed of or imagined (1 Kings17:1-16; 19:1-8). You might be thinking that there are many things you have asked for and He has not yet provided. Will He really come through for you? According to Psalm 84:11 He will absolutely provide what you need. It might not be exactly the way you were expecting it, but He answers! Do not miss this when you read Matt. 6:11 “Give us this day our daily bread.” Take notice that He says ‘daily bread’. We are not to pray only when we have an emergency, we are to have a continual, ongoing relationship with our Lord (1 Thess. 5:17). He wants us to respect Him as the Source of everything we have and receive. James 1:17 says “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father.” Some people do not acknowledge this and they try to get everything with their own strength. Some people expect others to help them achieve their goals. The question for you is: where do you go for the things that you require? Jesus tells us to ask Him for our daily bread so that we will understand that our hope, our abilities, our sufficiency is all from Him. Write this down: your own strength and wisdom is inadequate for all that God has called you to do. You can become all He created you to be only as you depend on Him. The first step in accepting that is thanking Him for your everyday needs.
The fourth request Jesus mentions is one of the most difficult but it is important. He says in Matthew 6:12 “Forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors.” In other words He wants us to approach Him with a clean heart. Whether you realize it or not, when we sin, we distance ourselves from the Father. We reject His plan and His purpose when we sin. God is holy, and everything He commands us to do is consistent with His righteousness. When we disobey Him we step away from His perfect plan and we hinder His work in our lives. He wants us to forgive those that have wronged us, to make sure that we do not have any resentment or bitterness or hold any grudges against anyone. How do you let go and forgive? You have to focus on the love and compassion that was shown to us when Jesus was on the cross. You have been saved and forgiven and you have to embrace this fully and realize the incredible mercy that has been shown to you in order to forgive others (Eph. 4:32). Then confess your anger, your insecurities and your hurt. The Father wants to heal your wounds, He wants you to feel safe in His care. He wants to deliver you from any bitterness in your heart. He wants you to lay down any hostility as well as feelings of retaliation. There is great power in forgiveness, it keeps you from becoming bitter, resentful and hostile. If you keep these things in your heart your fellowship with the Father suffers. If He puts anyone on your heart that you need to forgive do not ignore them.
We will look at the fifth request tomorrow.
Dale
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