Daily Dependance

Daily Dependance
Since we have been considering the Lord’s prayer we have covered what it might look like for us to pray that the name of God be honored as holy as well as that His kingdom would come. So then, if we look back to Luke 11 the next thing that The Lord Jesus teaches His disciples to pray is, “give us each day our daily bread.”  This is, no doubt, one of the most memorable pieces in the Lord’s prayer. So then, how might we consider this petition as we pray?

First, we should remember that apart from Christ we have only merited that which Adam had merited. The Westminster Larger Catechism puts it this way: “...in Adam, and by our own sin, we have forfeited our right to all outward blessings of this life, and deserved to be wholly deprived of them by God, and to have them cursed to us in the use of them…” In short, God owes us no good thing. Yet, in Christ, He gives to us generously. Thus, we come to our Father in heaven acknowledging that it is from His kind hand that we are able to be sustained and enjoy anything that we might.

Secondly, we should remember that our daily bread is from the Lord. This might seem self evident, yet it is the most overlooked in our day to day lives. Living in the United States we take food for granted. Most people in this country assume that because they have a paycheck coming in and money in their wallets that they will have food at their whim. Yet, if it were not for the good provision of our Father we would not have even a morsel to grace our tongues. This should remind us that we should be looking to the Lord for our provision and not to ourselves. We are to use the gifts that the Lord has given us to procure our daily bread, yet we must remember that it is the Lord who has provided our talents and able bodies to do even this.

Lastly, we remember the Lord’s sovereign hand over us as we trust Him for our daily bread. For some who will read this article, your daily bread may include certain medications to help your body function in a particular manner or to possibly fight off a foreign disease. While medication can be a great help to us, I wonder if we have ever thought about the Lord using it in our lives? Apart from the sovereign hand of our God, no medication will benefit any person. So then, even something as simple as medication can be sanctified unto the Lord as we ask Him to use it for His glory and our good. 

Of course we could go on and think through every portion of what it means to have a daily dependance upon the Lord. However, let’s sum it up by remembering that our Father in heaven gives His children good gifts (James 1:17). Let us then look to Him, acknowledging that all things come from His kind, sovereign hand. Let us go to Him asking that He would supply our daily bread.

Grace be with you, 
C. R. Hamilton