5. ‘Give us this day our daily Bread’.
This
petition may be understood both in a spiritual and temporal way.
Spiritually, Christ himself is our bread of life; he is our ‘food for
the journey’. We know this in faith but God also speaks this to us in
Scripture.
‘Our
fathers ate manna in the desert; as scripture says: He gave them bread
from heaven to eat. Jesus answered them: In all truth I tell you, it was
not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, it is my Father who gives
you the bread from heaven, the true bread; for the bread of God is the
bread which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. `Sir,'
they said, `give us that bread always’. Jesus answered them: I am the
bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever hunger; no one who
believes in me will ever thirst’. (John 6:31-35).
In
addition, we believe that our Father knows our needs, and we trust that
he will take care of us. We pray that his loving providence may
envelop us. Again, our Father reassures us in His Word.
‘It
is the gentiles who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly
Father knows you need them all. Set your hearts on his kingdom first,
and on God's saving justice, and all these other things will be given
you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care
of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own’. (Mt 6: 32-34).
So
God asks us to put our trust in Him for all our needs. He knows them
before we even ask; yet He wants his children to voice their need. It
is good to remind ourselves particularly if we are concerned that in His
wonderful providence, God always provides. He always provides us with
enough grace (our daily bread) for every situation that we encounter.
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