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“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,”
Jesus did not instruct His followers to pray for a one-time permanent solution to their daily needs. He did not tell believers to ask for enough money to forever guarantee they could feed their families for days or weeks or years. The point Jesus makes here is to pray in dependence on the Father; to ask Him to meet the needs of each day. In doing so, He destroyed any idea that believers should be mostly self-reliant, checking in with God only when faced with a critical need. Instead, Jesus showed clearly that every child of God must be dependent upon Him for every need in every day.
So often, we begin to believe that we are the ones to thank for our success in life. We believe that it was us who got us the promotion, or the pay raise. That it was your work that caused your garden to grow. That it was you who caused your car to start and work properly today. That it was you who attracted your friend group or spouse to yourself.
In fact, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, we are reliant on God for all things at all times. Every good gift we receive comes from Him and not from ourselves (James 1:17). The prayer for our daily bread is the humble expression that we understand that to be true.
Dependence on God means realizing that what we "need" relates directly to His will, and His plans (Matthew 6:10). What we truly "need" is defined according to the purposes God has for us in that moment.
Father God, I love you. I am grateful for all the ways you provide for my needs – especially for the times I don’t realize it. Your presence, peace, comfort, voice, correction, and provision are always on time in my life – even if it doesn’t look the way I think it should. Lord, I confess that I rely on myself too much. I confess that you alone are all that I need. (Confess specific ways you rely on yourself.) You alone are all-knowing. You alone are my Creator, my King, and my life! Lift my eyes to see you high and lifted on the throne of my life. Thank you for loving me.
Today, pray for our local for your local school students and teachers. Pray that the Lord will watch over the schools in your area. Pray that students would come to know Christ. Pray for opportunity to minister to teachers in your area.