GIVE US THIS DAY
Kendra Intihar
Today's Scripture: “Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Matthew 6:11-13, (ESV)
Theme: When we fast, may our prayers reflect Jesus’ own example when He asks God to provide for us both spiritual and physical “bread” and for deliverance from evil.
RHYTHMS
When I was a little girl, I loved going to visit the Lutheran church where my mother grew up. It was so completely different from the church we attended that it felt like a fascinating novelty. At my mother’s childhood church, we sang from hymnals; there was a wall-mounted attendance register board; the pastor wore liturgical robes; and we participated in call and response throughout the service. We corporately confessed our sins, recited the Apostles’ Creed, and we always prayed the Lord’s Prayer aloud together. I remember wondering why Lutherans didn’t extemporize their prayers more…at my home church, I had become accustomed to lengthy and creative prayers. I didn’t realize that our church had its own liturgical framework, but as an adult attending services at The Cove, I can see the steadying rhythms of welcome, worship, message, prayer, and benediction. These rhythms are a quiet kind of sustenance, providing us with spiritual “food” each week.
DAILY BREAD
The Lord’s Prayer is recorded twice in Scripture: once in Matthew 6, and once in Luke 11. In Luke’s account, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray, and He responds, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation'” (Luke 11:2-4, NIV.) The simple request for daily bread in this prayer is a reminder that God is the One who sustains us, both physically and spiritually, one day at a time.
In Matthew 6:7, Jesus admonishes His disciples to avoid “babbling on like the pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words,” and then He gave them the prayer we know today as "The Lord’s Prayer"—a prayer that doesn’t ask for excess, but rather asks for “enough.” Jesus’ life and ministry are a testament to the “enough-ness” and timely provision of God.
HOW GOD SUSTAINS
Our lives should be lived as prayer (see 1 Thessalonians 5:17), but that doesn’t mean that prayer needs to be complicated. In fact, the simplicity of the prayer Jesus taught His disciples—and us—is a reminder of that. We can, and in fact should, pray to God to be sustained not merely physically, but spiritually as well, trusting Him to know exactly what we need and trusting Him, also, to provide it in His time.
Make it Personal: This week at The Cove, we continued talking about fasting and praying. Whether you are an experienced faster or you are just beginning, be encouraged that praying while you fast is simple. Come humbly before God, confess your sins, thank Him for what He has done in your life, and petition Him for your needs and the needs of those you are called to care for and love.
Pray: Today, let’s pray together as Jesus taught us in Scripture:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Read: Ecclesiastes 5:2; Matthew 6:8; Romans 12:12
Weekly Memory Verse: “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19, ESV