Teach Us to Pray · Stop 4
What counts as daily bread, and why ask for only one day?
In the desert, God fed Israel with bread that covered the ground every morning. Anyone who hoarded it found worms in it the next day. Today you'll look at what “daily bread” includes. Luther's list is longer than you'd guess.
Start this stopDaily Bread
The Israelites called the desert bread manna, which sounds like the Hebrew for “What is it?” It tasted like wafers made with honey. Everyone gathered enough for one day. On the sixth day they gathered enough for the Sabbath too.
Asking for today's bread teaches you to trust God for tomorrow. Luther pointed out that God feeds everyone, even people who never pray. We ask so that we'll notice where our food comes from, and say thank you.
Then Luther made a list of what daily bread means. It keeps going: food and drink, clothes and shoes, a home, money, family, good government, good weather, peace, health, good friends, and faithful neighbors. Anything your body and your life need counts.
Read it in your Bible
- Exodus 16:14–21. When the morning dew lifts, flaky bread covers the ground. Moses tells each household to gather only what it needs for the day. Some keep extra overnight, and by morning it has spoiled.
- Matthew 6:31–34. Jesus tells his followers not to worry about food and clothes, because the Father knows they need them. Look for God's kingdom first. Tomorrow will bring its own worries, so leave them there.
The fourth petition and Luther's explanation
Give us this day our daily bread.
What does this mean? God gives daily bread, even without our prayer, to all wicked men; but we pray in this petition that He would lead us to know it, and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.
What is meant by daily bread? Everything that belongs to the support and wants of the body, such as meat, drink, clothing, shoes, house, homestead, field, cattle, money, goods, a pious spouse, pious children, pious servants, pious and faithful magistrates, good government, good weather, peace, health, discipline, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.
Words to know
- Manna. The bread God gave Israel in the desert, named for the question “What is it?” God provided one day at a time. That's the rhythm of this petition.
- Daily. How often this prayer asks for bread. Asking every day keeps us from pretending we don't need God.
- Hoard. To keep more than you need, just in case. The extra manna spoiled overnight. Trust looks like taking what you need and sharing the rest.
- Thanksgiving. What Luther says we receive our daily bread with. Saying grace before a meal is a small version of this prayer.