Pentecost Week 21 - The Lord’s Prayer Pt. 3

Christ Church Elders

11 minutes ago

3 min read

Scripture Reading

*Explain the context: “This week, we will read the next part of Jesus’ model prayer, the Lord’s Prayer.”

Matthew 6:11

Big Idea (For Parents)

Affirming our total dependence, we ask God for daily food so that, being fed, we might help feed others.

Family Reflection

(Read aloud or summarize)

We saw last week that Jesus taught us to pray, first, in a Godward direction, insisting that the realities of God’s name, kingdom and will transform the earth. This week, Jesus begins to teach us to pray, second, in a manward direction.

The first manward request of the Lord’s Prayer is that God give us our daily bread. By asking for something as basic as daily food which we need to live, we admit to God that we are 100% dependent on him for all our countless needs. We cannot provide for ourselves. We need God for everything all the time.

Happily, God delights to meet the needs of those who humbly ask him, so Jesus teaches us to ask. The idea of “daily bread” recalls when God gave Israel daily manna (a type of bread from heaven) to feed them in the wilderness. Apart from Sabbath day exceptions, they only ever had enough for one day. By that, God was teaching them to depend on him for what they truly needed to be fed and well, even if manna was not what they always wanted on any given day. So in asking for “daily bread,” we ask God to provide everything that will fill all our true needs, even when that means not getting what we think we want, and even when it means only having enough for today, leaving us with faith alone that God will continue providing for tomorrow.

Since the Lord’s Prayer is, most directly, a group prayer for church members to pray together, we pray not only for God to meet our individual needs but also those of all his people. By feeding his people with everything they truly need, God empowers them to, in his name, then go forward and likewise feed others who come to humbly acknowledge their dependence on God as well.

Discussion Questions

(Choose 1-2. Adjust for age.)

1- With regular supermarket trips and consistently full pantries, many people in the United States do not seriously consider that they might not have food tomorrow. If it seems like we’ll have food tomorrow whether or not we pray for it, why should we still ask?

(Hint: The key word in that question is “seems.” Also, think about how food is representative of many more needs which may seem less secure.)

2- In the past, far more people died of starvation globally than do today. Much of that decrease in global famine happened alongside the increase of Christianity around the world through global missions. What connection might there be between there being less starvation and more Christianity around the world?

3- In addition to food, what are some of our other basic needs for physical and mental health?

Practice—Feed Someone

As a family daily fed by God, consider how God might use you to feed someone else this week, especially someone who does (or whom you can help to) also recognize his or her dependence on God. Perhaps you could invite an individual or family over for a meal, or prepare a treat to take to a neighbor, friend, or family member. As you do so, remind yourselves as a family that when we pray “give us our daily bread,” we are asking God to feed not only us as individuals, but all his people!

Close in prayer thanking God for his provision and asking him to continue giving our daily bread going forward.