"Give us today our daily bread." Matthew 6:11
The word prayer means to ask, and while this is not the only aspect of prayer, it is still part of what we do when we pray. In the next chapter of Matthew, Jesus says, "ask, and you shall receive" (Matt. 7:7). As we seek the Lord through prayer, we should ask for God to provide the things we need.
"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19
This is not a wish list but a list of our NEEDS. Needs and wants seem to be confused in our generation. A need is something necessary to survive. As our Father in heaven, God desires to provide for our needs, and sometimes the very present need we have is to go without what we want. God is a good Father and does not want us to be spoiled children. Therefore, there are times when what we need is not what we want, and when we pray, we cannot confuse the two. Remember yesterday we focused on submission, which is essential to asking God for provision in our lives.
Jehovah Jeriah
In the Old Testament, God is referred to Jehovah Jeriah or the Lord, our provider. The event where we find this out is when Abraham takes Issac to the top of Mount Mariah to present Issac as a sacrifice to God. God intervenes and provides a ram for the sacrifice. Our Father has done the same for us. Jesus has supplied all our needs, the lamb slain for all. That means that God has provided all we need this very day. As we begin this day, we must pause and realize this by asking Him to give us this provision. It is available to us, but we are required to ask for it.
Let's Begin
As a parent, I sometimes know my child needs something, but I make them ask because I want to have a conversation with them and because I am teaching them something. God is no different. He wants us to ask Him in prayer because it creates conversation and causes us to learn. Every day we should go to our Father and ask for our provision. Then when we receive it, we will understand what our day will consist of because of what He has supplied for the day. For instance, if God focuses our souls on patience during our prayer time, it could mean we will have interruptions in our day. Instead of being irritated, we will be prepared for them because we asked for our "daily bread." It's more than the stuff He gives us.
Activity
It is always God's desire to sustain us. As we pray today, I want to challenge us to ask God for and understand our day. Talk to Him about your agenda and see if anything needs to be adjusted. Pay attention; many times, it comes to us indirectly. You may have a thought or a feeling about a particular event. You may think randomly about a characteristic you need to work on. Maybe a random passage of scripture will pop into your head. This is our portion of our daily bread. All these things feel random, but our Father provides for us what we need, which is what happens when we experience these things, so act on them and receive God's provision.