It is part of the prayer Jesus gave when a disciple asked Him to teach them to pray, addressing God as heavenly Father with a request to be made each day. It asks Him for food and the temporal provision needed day by day, expressing daily dependence on Him for the necessities of life and strength to serve Him. The request is not selfish but embraces the needs of others, calling those who say Father to seek blessing for neighbors as well as themselves. It teaches believers to bring everyday needs directly to God in simple, plain words, following a brief and comprehensive model meant to be lived rather than merely repeated as a form. Asking for daily bread is to be joined to daily life and cooperation with God, praying every day, living out the prayer through the day, and working rather than sitting idle while trusting Him to answer.
Setting and Meaning
Jesus gave this prayer after He had been praying in a certain place and had ceased, when one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples, and He gave it as what to say when praying. The request for daily bread is addressed to God as heavenly Father and belongs among the things believers are taught to pray for. It asks for the bread needed day by day, and the parable that follows pictures a man asking persistently for bread so he can provide for a weary traveler, and receiving as much as he needs.
The verse asks God for the food and temporal provision needed day by day, expressing daily dependence on Him for what is needed each day. That dependence is illustrated by Christ receiving fresh spiritual help from the Father each day, including the Spirit's anointing and words to give to others. Daily bread means the temporal necessities and blessings needed for life, including daily food and other temporal needs. These needs include the preservation of every power and faculty so that people can serve God, and calling on Him includes seeking His help in suffering in trust of His mercy. God gives work so people can cooperate with Him in answering the prayer rather than sit idle after asking for food.
The request is not selfish but embraces the needs of all people on earth. Those who call God Father are to include their neighbors and seek blessings for others as well as themselves.
Praying for Daily Needs
The petition for daily bread belongs to the simple, earnest, comprehensive prayer Jesus gave as a pattern showing how to pray and what words to use, brief yet comprehensive in its scope. It was given to teach how to pray, not to be repeated merely as a form. It teaches that everyday needs may be brought directly to God in simple, direct words, without high-flown language. The one in need is to come and tell Him plainly what is required, trusting the heavenly Father as a child trusts earthly parents. Every soul has the privilege of stating to the Lord his own special necessities, bringing particular needs and offering individual thanksgiving for blessings received each day. Gratitude for His mercies belongs with the asking.
The prayer is a model for concise public prayer that presents requests instead of lecturing God. In the assembly prayer is to be brief, comprehensive, simple and right to the point, asking God's blessing upon those assembled, without wandering over the world, without oratorical display, and without preaching to God. Long prayers that lay out the full burden of the heart belong in private prayer alone with God in the closet. Long and spiritless prayers are not a joy to God but a burden, and in the assembly they kill interest and make meetings tedious.
The prayer Christ taught is to be offered daily and then lived out during the day. It is to be added to every prayer offered and studied through the day as a lesson of the highest value. Practicing every phase of it is the whole duty of man, its principles lie at the foundation of all right action, and carrying it out makes men sensible, with minds God Himself can control and guide. Repeating that prayer and striving to live by it brings renewal of mind and heart through the Holy Spirit and strength to carry out high and holy purposes. It is to be answered in life by striving through good works.
Asking for food and other temporal needs is a proper subject of prayer, yet God expects those who ask to work rather than sit idle, giving them work so they can cooperate with Him in answering their prayer. True prayer requires clean, converted hearts and strengthened faith that trusts His promise to answer.
It is part of the prayer Jesus gave when a disciple asked Him to teach them to pray, addressing God as heavenly Father with a request to be made each day.
It asks Him for food and the temporal provision needed day by day, expressing daily dependence on Him for the necessities of life and strength to serve Him.
The request is not selfish but embraces the needs of others, calling those who say Father to seek blessing for neighbors as well as themselves.
It teaches believers to bring everyday needs directly to God in simple, plain words, following a brief and comprehensive model meant to be lived rather than merely repeated as a form.
Asking for daily bread is to be joined to daily life and cooperation with God, praying every day, living out the prayer through the day, and working rather than sitting idle while trusting Him to answer.
Setting and Meaning
Jesus gave this prayer after He had been praying in a certain place and had ceased, when one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples, and He gave it as what to say when praying. The request for daily bread is addressed to God as heavenly Father and belongs among the things believers are taught to pray for. It asks for the bread needed day by day, and the parable that follows pictures a man asking persistently for bread so he can provide for a weary traveler, and receiving as much as he needs.
The verse asks God for the food and temporal provision needed day by day, expressing daily dependence on Him for what is needed each day. That dependence is illustrated by Christ receiving fresh spiritual help from the Father each day, including the Spirit's anointing and words to give to others. Daily bread means the temporal necessities and blessings needed for life, including daily food and other temporal needs. These needs include the preservation of every power and faculty so that people can serve God, and calling on Him includes seeking His help in suffering in trust of His mercy. God gives work so people can cooperate with Him in answering the prayer rather than sit idle after asking for food.
The request is not selfish but embraces the needs of all people on earth. Those who call God Father are to include their neighbors and seek blessings for others as well as themselves.
Praying for Daily Needs
The petition for daily bread belongs to the simple, earnest, comprehensive prayer Jesus gave as a pattern showing how to pray and what words to use, brief yet comprehensive in its scope. It was given to teach how to pray, not to be repeated merely as a form. It teaches that everyday needs may be brought directly to God in simple, direct words, without high-flown language. The one in need is to come and tell Him plainly what is required, trusting the heavenly Father as a child trusts earthly parents. Every soul has the privilege of stating to the Lord his own special necessities, bringing particular needs and offering individual thanksgiving for blessings received each day. Gratitude for His mercies belongs with the asking.
The prayer is a model for concise public prayer that presents requests instead of lecturing God. In the assembly prayer is to be brief, comprehensive, simple and right to the point, asking God's blessing upon those assembled, without wandering over the world, without oratorical display, and without preaching to God. Long prayers that lay out the full burden of the heart belong in private prayer alone with God in the closet. Long and spiritless prayers are not a joy to God but a burden, and in the assembly they kill interest and make meetings tedious.
The prayer Christ taught is to be offered daily and then lived out during the day. It is to be added to every prayer offered and studied through the day as a lesson of the highest value. Practicing every phase of it is the whole duty of man, its principles lie at the foundation of all right action, and carrying it out makes men sensible, with minds God Himself can control and guide. Repeating that prayer and striving to live by it brings renewal of mind and heart through the Holy Spirit and strength to carry out high and holy purposes. It is to be answered in life by striving through good works.
Asking for food and other temporal needs is a proper subject of prayer, yet God expects those who ask to work rather than sit idle, giving them work so they can cooperate with Him in answering their prayer. True prayer requires clean, converted hearts and strengthened faith that trusts His promise to answer.