April 25, 2016
The Lord’s Prayer

What does this mean?–Answer.
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?–Answer.
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. (The Small Catechism)

Jesus said: ” “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,[a] or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matthew 6:25-26)

In the words of the writer of Proverbs: “Give us our apportioned bread”. (Proverbs 30:8) We see, all throughout history, especially the history of G-d’s people, we have been praying that G-d will supply our basic wants and needs. It is in this same manner then that through this petition of the Lord’s prayer, we are praying that G-d will supply our needs, not just our hungering needs, but also, as Martin Luther states, our shoes, clothing, and other goods. It is in a sense of avoiding the worries of life that Jesus teaches his followers to trust that G-d will provide. This should become our prayer as well, even though we have so many worries in this life.

It is true that most of the things we worry about never come to fruition. Even with all of the worries that I have had that we will not have enough, enough money, enough food, enough time, somehow G-d provides. G-d is seeking a level of trust from G-d’s people – a sense that G-d will give us all that we need.

Pastor Dave