Give us today our daily bread. (Matt. 6:11)
I hope you're enjoying this series of blogs on a very interesting, very insightful set of instructions that Jesus gave his disciples to show them how to have true relationship with God. So many in our day and age don't know how to tap into relationship with the Father, but Jesus shows us how in Matthew 6:9-14, or what is known as The Lord's Prayer. To read past articles about the Lord's Prayer, click HERE.
Today's article continues with verse 11, which is about how to pray for our needs. This section holds a secret to having a close walk with God that isn't apparent at first. By praying, "Give us this day our daily bread," Jesus does not want us to just say a one-sentence line and expect that God will fill in the blanks. I heard the story of a woman who got tired of praying over the same list every night so nailed her prayer list to the wall above her bed and pointed to it when she got into bed and prayed, "God, I need that stuff, Amen." That kind of short-cut praying is what many people do with the Lord's Prayer. They think that if they say, "Give me this day my daily bread," all their needs will be covered. No, this sentence is a topic, which introduces a huge arena for dialogue with God. In this case, Jesus is saying that we should have detailed dialogue with God about what we need in order to accomplish our life and His mission on this earth.
Years ago, I was challenged to pray about my life and my needs in a completely different way. It was not connected to this sentence in Matthew 6, but later I realized that this is what the prayer exercise was all about. I was challenged to write down exactly what I would want and need if life were to be perfect five years in the future. I looked at the nine relationships of my life and I began detailing what I would want my marriage to be like; what I would want my work to be like; what I would want my children to be like, as well as my finances and my contribution to society.
I took three months to work on that document and then I began to ask God for each of those ideas every day. If, as I prayed, I sensed that my goal or idea was not right, then I would change it to the right one. I remember telling God what I really needed to make my family work, my job work, my girls impending college expenses work, and so on. It was amazing to have this dialogue with God back and forth over months and then years. What is amazing is that God provided all that I needed. He did the truly impossible in answer to my prayers about my needs. I asked Him for what I needed to build a righteous God-honoring life and He did it. I am still blown away at the fact that God provided 90% of what was on the paper. The stuff He did not provide, well, He did something better than I had asked for or imagined, or I realized that I didn't need those things like I thought I did.
I want you to realize that just saying, "Give us this day our daily bread" is not enough. Every single day you have emotional needs, mental needs, financial needs, relational needs, and physical needs that you must ask God to supply. He will supply what you need if you will ask for it; then it is up to you to use what He supplies.
I would love to hear from you and your experience with God your Father. Feel free to reach out to me at info@ptlb.com. Remember, your greatest life is just ahead.
In His service,
Gil Stieglitz
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The Fruit of the Spirit explained simply and with relevance for today.
Find out what God is asking from you when He tells you to "be loving" or "practice joy" or "be peaceful," and so on to the people in your life. Get ready to experience life change, deeper relationships, greater success, and more joy. You won't want to miss this one! This book comes with video commentaries from Dr. Gil that accompany each chapter, easily accessible from your smart phone or electronic device.