Daily Devotion, January 23, 2020

Devotion:

Read Matthew 6:11.

The Lord’s Prayer is divided up into petitions, the first three directing our attention to God. We are to pray to the Father about His name (Hallowed be your name), pray about His Kingdom (Your kingdom come), and pray about His will (Your will be done). The second half of the Lord’s Prayer teaches us to pray for ourselves and others. We are to pray for provision (Give us today our daily bread), pray for pardon (forgive us our debts), and pray for protection (Lead us not into temptation).

Today we are concentrating on our daily bread. At its heart, this is a prayer for food. When was the last time we prayed to God, “O God, please give me a meal?” Most of us ought to pray the opposite, “O God, prevent me from eating another meal, I have already eaten too much”, especially having just finished the holiday season!  Should we go shopping every morning for the day’s needs? I don’t think that’s the point. The lesson I believe God was trying to teach the Israelites about the manna, and indeed He is teaching us, is that He should be our daily reliance. We can plan and prepare all we want, but we must ultimately recognize that our daily provision is from His hand. We need to trust Him to give us what we need each day to sustain us for that day.

Personal Worship Option:

We shouldn’t be dictated to by our greed, or our self-reliance. Rather, we should wake up each morning with thankful hearts for all the Lord has given us, and each night pray that He will ensure we have enough for tomorrow. Let’s make this our daily prayer: "Lord, we thank You for all You have given us, and we look to You and You alone to provide our spiritual and physical needs today.”