A Dangerous Prayer - Part 2

I was originally going to write this reflection on the Lord’s Prayer in two parts. However, when I came to the next verse up for consideration, I decided to devote this entire blog entry to this verse: Give us this day our daily bread. This verse is packed!

One of the beauties of Scripture is the use of the most basic elements known to people all over the globe – like bread - to describe spiritual realities. It is no accident that Jesus described Himself as the Bread of Life. The allusion to bread is not just about filling one’s bodily needs, though our God, because He is a loving Father, does address that need. But He wants to give us much more, so He made a covenant with us – He is our God and we are His people. This covenant is inherently bi-directional. God gives Himself to us and we must, in turn, respond in kind to Him.

In Exodus 16, verse 4, the Lord says to Moses, “I will now rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion; thus will I test them, to see whether they follow My instructions or not.” The people had been grumbling to Moses that he had led them into the desert to die of hunger. When Moses took the people’s complaint to the Lord, Yahweh met their immediate need for food by sending down manna. But He wanted to give them so much more. He wanted to be in relationship with them.

So how do we respond to such an incredible gift of Self? With thanksgiving and praise. And there is no more fitting way to praise and glorify our God than through obedience to His commandments. Still, obedience is often a difficult concept for us broken human beings, especially when we don’t have a clear picture of what’s around the next corner on this journey we call life. Countless philosophers and musicians over the years have asked what life is really about, why we are even here. We don’t like uncertainty. Yet, being people of faith means that we are sometimes asked to live in an uncomfortable air of uncertainty, but in a spirit of trust, for we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7).

Our Biblical ancestors experienced the same uncertainties, and occasionally wanted to turn back to their comfort zone. While wandering in the desert after the great miracles of Passover and the parting of the Red sea, they became so paralyzed by the discomfort that they expressed a death wish rather than submit themselves in obedience to God’s mysterious plan. “The Israelites said to them [Moses and Aaron], ‘ Would that we had died at the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread! But you had to lead us into this desert to make the whole community die of famine!” (Ex. 16:3)

Even those who knew Jesus in the flesh didn’t fare much better. And the Lord responded in even more concrete terms. In what is known as the “Bread of Life Discourse” in John 6, Jesus reveals Himself in no uncertain terms for whom and what He is: ‘Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world’ (Jn 6: 49-51).

Bread factors prominently in a number of post-resurrection appearances. The breakfast on the beach account in John 21 also features bread - an echo back to the Last Supper. Luke tells us that "the disciples recognized Him [Jesus] in the breaking of the bread” (Luke 24:13-35). Do we see Jesus as the “daily bread” that literally feeds every part of our life or is He just a vending machine we go to when we are hungry? He wants to fill every hunger we have, including and especially that empty space inside that nothing else can satisfy. He desires to be with us in a covenant so intimate, that He gives Himself to us as food. Do we recognize Him there?

Prayer Request
For those weighed down by the daily struggle of providing for their basic needs.

Prayer
Lord God, we give You thanks and praise that You desire to be in covenant with us, to provide for our every need, even those we don't know we have. Give us eyes to see beyond the physical to the mysterious and wondrous reality of Your Holy Spirit working in our lives, as we walk not just by sight, but by Your gift of faith. We pray in the mighty Name of Jesus, Amen.