Jesus’ Blueprint for
Prayer
“Give
us our daily bread”
The first
three requests in Jesus’ Blueprint for Prayer deal with God’s glory (“Your name,” “your kingdom,” and “your will”;
whereas, the last three requests deal with the family (“give us, forgive us, and lead us.)”
The prayer request “Give us our daily bread”
brings
to mind the situation in regards to the children of Israel during their march
through the wilderness of sin. They grumbled against Moses because of a lack of
food.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I
will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s
portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in
My instruction.” (Ex. 16:4)
They were being tested
to see if they would trust God for their daily needs. No refrigerators or ice
chests to preserve the “manna.” If they tried to gather more than one day’s
portion, it would rot and grow maggots. God established rules for them to live by.
Did you
know that every kitchen and dining room table has rules? I definitely remember
some rules my parents set down. We were to say, “Please pass the _____ followed
by the words “thank you.” Another was “don’t leave the table until your plate
is clean,” and have asked to be “excused.”
My favorite
table story is about the father with nine sons. The rule of his kitchen table
was simple: Dad gets the last piece of chicken. If he doesn’t want it, the
fastest fork wins. One night, as all ten eyed the final piece on the plate, a
thunderstorm caused an electrical blackout. There was a scream in the dark, and
when the lights returned, the dad’s hand was on the chicken platter with nine
forks sticking in it.
It was a
wise practice at our table to all hold hands while thanking the Lord for the
food. This prevents anyone from cheating. Watch out when you hear Amen!
Prayer: Dear Lord, how I thank you for
continuing to supply our daily food!
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