HOME AND FIRESIDE by Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Jan 2, 1912

HOME AND FIRESIDE

By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle

“Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread”

By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle

We have been accustomed to hearing and to repeating these words since our childhood. There is nothing new about them. For nineteen hundred years they have formed a part of the petition of hundreds of thousands of people, since the divine Nazarene incorporated them into that wonderful prayer which has served as a pattern for the rich and the poor, the peasant and the king, through the long ages.

But for this very reason, I suspect, we may have failed to comprehend the depth of meaning and significance which is hidden in the simple words.

Do you think it strange that our blessed Master taught us to pray for so commonplace a thing as this? That we should ask our God for patience or for grace; for courage to endure temptation, and for strength to resist it; for help to conquer a quick temper and a hasty spirit; or even ask Him for worldly prosperity, as Jabez did,—all these things seem reasonable enough. But for bread—just common bread enough to supply the needs of the day,—this seems almost childish, you say.

“Yes,” replies Mr. Richman, while a self-confident smile curls his lip, “yes, I have always thought that part of the Lord’s Prayer a superfluity—at least it is such to me. Why, I have hundreds of acres of golden grain waving in the sunlight, only waiting for the reaper; and there are thousands of bushels of wheat and corn stored in my spacious granaries. Can you tell me why I should make use of such a prayer as this?”

Ah, my friend, you can not tell what the morrow may bring forth; and until you can, you ought to accept this prayer with as much humility of spirit as does your poor brother. Before the rising of another sun, the breath of the Lord may have scattered your hoards of golden grain, or the moth and worm may have eaten holes in your money-bags. The savings of a lifetime may be turned into smoke in a single hour. O, yes, yes, Mr. Richman, I am sure it may be well even for you to repeat this homely phrase. It is for you as well as for others.

I think it was given us that we might keep constantly in mind our entire dependence upon Him who gives the rain and the sunshine, the reaping time and the rich harvest. And therefore, altho our Father knows that we “have need of all these things before we ask Him,” and neither are we obliged to remind Him of our constantly recurring wants, yet the beautiful, childlike prayer teaches us a lesson in humility and complete trust in Him who gives us richly all things to enjoy.

Strange indeed it seems that the all-wise Framer of the universe should concern Himself about so small a matter as the daily bread of His humble creatures. But who that has ever thought upon the subject, has not been amazed at the fact that this request for daily bread precedes every other request for ourselves in the entire prayer?

We might naturally think that the petition for forgiveness of sin and deliverance from evil, would take the precedence. No; the sublime prayer is as perfect as is the wonderful Teacher from whose divine lips it first fell. And this simple prayer for daily bread embraces all the other temporal needs of humanity. It encourages us to believe that He hears our humblest request.

The first miracle ever performed by the divine Nazarene, conveys a most beautiful lesson. Ordinarily the miracles of the Master were performed to relieve cases of intense suffering or direful want or deepest distress. But as if to encourage us to come to Him in every emergency, He has recorded for our benefit an account of this miracle, wrought primarily only to increase the happiness of His friends and save them from embarrassment.

No other miracle so appeals to us, from the standpoint of the Master’s having a real, genuine care for our every desire, as does this one. It gives me courage to believe that He wishes me to enjoy all the lawful comforts of this life, as well as the life to come. He would give me, instead of water, the rich, new wine of His love. And of the temporal blessings, He pours all into my cup which it is possible for Him to give me without positive injury to me, either spiritual or temporal. He does not love to torture us with poverty or with embarrassments of any kind. He plans my pleasure trips for me; He lays out even my day’s work in its minutest detail.

Does He? Is it possible that He cares so much?

“In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” If He counts the hairs of our heads, and cares for the twittering sparrow, and says over and over again, “Fear not,” and loves to hear us ask Him even for “daily bread,” why should we be called presumptuous because we take Him at His word?

“But,” says one, “I get so tired living in suspense all the time. For years I have not known where the next day would find me, or where the next cord of wood or sack of flour was to come from. I seem always to be waiting for something.”

But believe me,—there is no such thing as “living in suspense” if we are constantly leaning hard on the mighty Arm that never wearies. Suspense?—Never! Every step of the journey has been carefully mapped out for you and me by a wisdom which never made a mistake.

O blessed Christ, how sweet to trust Thy wondrous wisdom and Thy care! And tho Thy child is naught but dust, Fresh mercies Thou dost still prepare. I do not ask my way to see; Master, I leave it all with Thee.