One of the songs we sing has the words, "This
is the air I breathe" and then "This is my daily bread" The
song is obviously talking about the Spirit of God being more precious
to us than the air we breathe. Then we have to ask ourselves,
how often do we need air to breathe? Do we need Jesus that
often? How often do you need food to eat? Jesus was aware
that we needed these things and said we should pray this way:
Matt 6
9 Our Father who is in
heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Our
daily bread! We are to pray for the things we need on a daily
basis which will sustain our life. God wants you to have those
things which we have need of on a daily basis! We need food,
we need water, and we need air to breathe. We also are in need
of the presence of God in our life as well as the love of family
and friends! When we pray for our daily bread I believe
we are praying for all of this and more!
We
are praying for balance in our lives when we ask for our daily
bread.
Prov 30:8
Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,
There
are things in this world that we don't need! There is a place
where we have too much food, too much money, and too many things! The
wisdom in the Proverbs is to ask that we would be neither rich nor
poor, but to live within a place of contentment and to be
fed the food that is my portion.
Please
understand, the Bible doesn't teach that we are to be poor in order
to follow Christ, nor does it teach us to not improve upon our circumstances
by not getting more education, better jobs, or accepting a pay raise
that is available, but the Bible does talk about having a balance
in our lives with the things that are material.
When
the Roman soldiers asked John the Baptist what they could do to show
that they had repented of their sins and were now following God,
John said they should not do their job with excessive violence, and
they were to
Luke
3:14 be content with your wages.
When
we pray, "Lord, give us this day our daily bread ... " we are asking
God to create a spirit of contentment in our lives. That is
a novel thought in America! Our
entire market based economy thrives on making people discontent so
we will buy new products! Advertisers tell us that we must
smell better, be cleaner, have the newest or the improved model,
or we will, we will ... We will what? Be content?
Listen
to the wisdom of the Apostle Paul.
Phil 4:11-13
11 I have learned
to be content in whatever circumstances I am.
12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to
live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret
of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Are
you content in the circumstances that you find in your daily life? Paul
knew the secret of being content when he was poor and hungry, and
when he was prosperous and well fed. He knew that being
content with our daily bread is based upon our relationship with
Jesus. Whatever He has given you to do, He can do in any
way He wants to do it!
Paul
understood the commitment which Jesus had made to him, and the commitment
he had made to Jesus. He told Timothy, "I know whom I have
believed " Paul trusted Jesus for wisdom, for strength,
for provision, for anointing, and for whatever was needed in ministry. Paul
could confidently say, "I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me." He had balance in his life.
The
writer of the Book of Hebrews adds to that.
Heb 13:5
5 Make sure that your
character is free from the love of money, being content with what
you have; for He Himself has said, "I will never desert you, nor
will I ever forsake you."
Have
you caught that in your spirit? Jesus said that He will never
desert you nor will He ever forsake you. This is our confidence
that we have in Him that what He began in us, He will complete it! He
will take care of us, meet our needs, and provide those things which
sustain us!
When
we get into discontent and begin to grouch about our lot in life,
we lose the most precious commodity we can have! We lose the
presence and the peace of Jesus! Our character becomes tainted
with the love of our own security! The love of money!
When
we pray, "Give us this day our daily bread," we are turning lose
of the reins of our life. Our destiny is no longer in our own
hands! We commit ourselves to trusting ourselves to the mercy
and grace of God for what He supplies. Our happiness is no
longer based upon what we have or don't have ... but upon the presence
of Jesus!
One
parting word from the Apostle Paul on this subject:
1 Tim 6:6
6 Godliness
actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.
Your provision
is not wrapped up in ambition or having great need, but in being content with
Jesus. Jesus may lead you in pathways of great wealth or He may lead
you in pathways which are not your choosing, but what He is looking to produce
in us is godliness with contentment!
A
part of what you are praying when you pray, "Give me this day my
daily bread is for a balanced life that is content with what
Christ will provide. The other part of, "our daily bread," are
for the needs we have which are spiritual and emotional.
Our
daily bread is not sufficient if it is only the material things which
we long for. Our heart has a God shaped hole which can only
be filled with His presence! Jesus said,
Matt 5:6
6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for
they shall be satisfied.
Living
a satisfied life can only be done when we are hungry and thirsty
for righteousness on a consist basis. Oh that righteousness
would become our daily bread. This is contentment, being
filled with a sense of joy and peace, and having satisfaction at
the core of your being! There is nothing like it that can be
obtained by wealth or pleasure.
The
world attempts to fill themselves with unrighteousness, but they
are forever hungry and never satisfied. When we attempt to
meet the inner desire for righteousness with the emptiness of the
world we continually stuff ourselves with things, with drink, with
pleasure, with immorality, with anger, with the stuff of this world,
and yet there is emptiness. Nothing satisfies like Jesus.
John 6:35
35 Jesus said to them, "I
am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he
who believes in Me will never thirst.
Thriving
on the presence of Jesus causes the gnawing hunger in our soul to
cease. I really don't understand how giving your life to Jesus
on a daily basis is so satisfying, but it is! There is a sense
of being loved, being forgiven, and being taken care of, that is
not met when you don't daily seek to be with Jesus. He is our
daily bread!
The
woman who met Jesus at the well in Samaria had come to satisfy her physical thirst,
but Jesus drew her attention to the spiritual and emotional thirst
that was within her and promised that He could give her water that
would satisfy that thirst.
John
4:15
15 The woman said to
Him, "Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come
all the way here to draw."
26 Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."
He
is the water that satisfies, He is the bread that fulfills, He is
the air that we breathe! When we pray "Give us this day our
daily bread" we are asking Jesus to satisfy the physical, the emotional,
and the spiritual needs of our life!
And
He will!
Rev
21:6
I am the Alpha and the
Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts
from the spring of the water of life without cost.
Are
you hungry and thirsty? Jesus satisfies!
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