“Give us this day our daily bread.”
Back of the loaf is the snowy flour,
And back of the flour the mill;
And back of the mill is the wheat, and the shower,
And the sun, and the Father’s will.
We are half-way through the Lord’s Prayer and come now to the first request for anything for ourself. We have learned that God must always be put first, and that the honoring of his name, the coming of his kingdom, and the doing of his will are always to be thought about and sought for before any matter of our own.
Yet it is a great comfort to know that we may bring our bodily wants to God in prayer. Throughout the Scriptures we are taught that nothing which concerns our life in any way is too small to be of interest to our Father. While the definite prayer here is for bread, all our physical needs are included. In an exquisite passage in the same sermon of Jesus in which the Lord’s Prayer is given, we are taught that our Father cares for the birds and provides for them, and clothes the flowers in their gorgeous beauty which lasts for only a day. Then we are taught that the same love which thus provides for the birds and the lilies will much more care for us. Nothing necessary for our life is too small or too earthly to put into the heart of a prayer. This petition for daily bread, like all the sayings of Christ, is full of deep meaning. Every word has its rich suggestions.
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