Pastor’s Place: Our daily bread

“This, then, is how you should pray. ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today 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 the evil one.’” – Matthew 6:9-13

We recite the Lord’s Prayer.

We teach the Lord’s Prayer to our kids.

We say it in church and locker rooms.

This is how Jesus told us we should pray. Recently, I have focused on one sentence in particular of the Lord’s Prayer.

“Give us today our daily bread.”- Matthew 6:11

We tend to think of our daily bread as what we eat–the food we consume. At first pass, that seems accurate. But the more I read it and reread it; I think there’s more to it than simply food.

Summer months bring an elevated amount of energy! We have activities to plan for kids, vacations to try and squeeze in, family we would like to visit.

In our new reality, those plans may require a little more work–a little more finessing than summer’s past. Because of the summer we had last year, we may try and squeeze in even more visits, camps, and family trips.

Maybe you find yourself nervous about planning anything too far in advance because the future feels uncertain. Perhaps finances are such that trips and camps and vacations are too much.

We focus on what we don’t have and the instability of our financial futures. If we aren’t careful, we inadvertently fill our days with busyness or worry concerning ourselves with things that shift our focus from where it really needs to be.

Focusing on what happened in the past or what could happen in the future can rob us of the gift of daily bread.

God gives us just what we need. He provides what we need daily. We may be going through difficult times, but we can be sure that God gives us what we need every day.

In the midst of all of the plans and busyness of summer, pray the Lord’s Prayer.

Ask God to give you daily bread.

The Pastor’s Place features columns written by a different area church leader each month. Call 940-728-8284 for more information.