The Gift of "Daily Bread"

Elisabeth Elliot begins her book,  God’s Guidance: A Slow and Certain Light, with a phrase-by-phrase discussion of the words included in what is called The Lord’s Prayer or The Model Prayer, which is found in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4.

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,

And the power, and the glory forever.

Amen.

In the section dealing with Give us this day our daily bread, Elisabeth points out that God not only created us to need what He gives, but He also wants us to recognize our need for His provisions by asking for them.  She says “bread” includes not only food to sustain our bodies but also, in a broader sense, all the things we need Him to supply, guidance being one of them.

Throughout the chapter dealing with the Lord’s Prayer, which He gave to His disciples as a model for them (and us!) to use, Elisabeth uses word pictures to clarify the principles in the prayer and help us to remember them. For example, in the Give us this day our daily bread section, she says she likes to picture, at the beginning of each new day,  the Lord presenting her with a platter containing all the things He knows is best for her for that day.

Since He always answers our  prayer for “daily bread,” we should gladly and gratefully receive whatever He provides. (See p. 25.)