I know God promises to provide, but I feel like I’m living hand to mouth. Why is it so tough for some (like the starving people in the world) and easy for others?

You are not alone in your concern for the future, let alone for the needs of today. Experts tell us what we need to save for retirement, and when we fall short of what they say we need, we feel like we may never be able to retire. Then, just when we feel like we’re getting ahead, another unexpected bill hits us.

God provides for his creation

Sometimes, there seems to be more month than money left. Even Asaph, the author of Psalm 73, says that he nearly lost his faith when he saw how the wicked prospered.

But the experience led him to see the big picture. Our hope is in God and our future life in heaven, not for a certain speck of time in this world. “I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:23-26). In a sense, everyone has a faith position. All people put their hope and trust in something. As Christians, we put our hope in God, who won heaven for us by Jesus’ life and death.

The psalmist David wrote, “The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. . . . The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing” (Psalm 145:9-16). Some estimates say that we (God!) produce about 1.5 times what is needed to provide food for our world. The problem is not with God when people go hungry. The problem is human greed and inefficient distribution.

Jesus taught us what to pray for

“Give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). This petition is unique. It is the only petition in the Lord’s Prayer that asks for physical blessings. The other six petitions ask for spiritual blessings. Jesus stresses that the spiritual blessings are the most important things; however, he still includes this petition in the Lord’s Prayer.

Daily bread could refer to the manna that the children of Israel received in the desert as God was leading them to the Promised Land. Every morning, the Israelites would go out and find this bread on the ground as their food for the day. They weren’t to collect more than they needed—just enough for each day’s needs. In fact, if they tried to collect more than a day’s worth, it would be spoiled by the next morning. God was teaching them—and us—that he wants us to rely on him to provide. When we pray for daily bread, we are praying for everything we need for our body and life.

We are praying for bread not cake

Notice that Jesus chooses his words carefully. He doesn’t say, “Give us this day everything our heart desires.” He says “bread.” In other words, what we need. We have a hard time in our culture separating wants from needs. Do you know what the average size of a home was in 1950? About 1,100 square feet. By 1970, the average size jumped to 1,500 square feet. By 1990, it hovered at 2,000 square feet. Today, homes average around 2,500 square feet. Why is that? Is it because we’re getting bigger? I don’t think so.

One item that consistently makes the top five things people look for in a home is closets with lots of storage. Why is that? It’s because we need a place to store all the extra stuff we have accumulated! It is easy for us to turn “bread” into a request for “cake.” And even when God gives us cake, have you ever found yourself complaining that God hasn’t given you the thicker frosting you wanted? We do well to model the wise Proverbs writer: “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread” (Proverbs 30:8). The writer knew the dangers of plenty. We start to assume that cake (not bread) is what God ought to provide for us. And if we don’t get cake, it is easy to shake a wagging finger at God.

We live in a culture that has deified dissatisfaction. Whole industries exist only to make us dissatisfied with what we have so that we can get something else. For us who live in such a blessed place, this petition is a good reminder that we are really praying, “Lord, show me the difference between what I need and what I can live without. Teach me that everything I have comes from your hand like a father giving bread to his children. Teach me to be thankful no matter if I have much or little. Continue to give me exactly what I need even if it’s not what I want. Give me today my daily bread.”

We are praying for daily bread

There was a time when Christians didn’t have first-world problems. They had third-world problems. They lived hand to mouth. Many Christians still live that way today. In Jesus’ day, a man was paid at the end of the day for the work he did that day. He worked in the fields, got his wages, and bought food on his way home to take care of his family. It doesn’t take much to imagine that if a man got sick for four or five days, how quickly hunger and tragedy could come to a home. A person was never more than one good bout with the flu away from being hungry. And so Jesus teaches Christians then and now to pray trustingly: “Give us today our daily bread.” God doesn’t tell us to pray for our annual bread; he wants us to trust him to provide every day.

God doesn’t tell us to pray for our annual bread; he wants us to trust him to provide every day.

What about retirement? What about health insurance costs? What about my kids’ braces? What about . . .? Jesus tells us: “Don’t worry. If I care for birds and grass, which are worth nothing, how much more will I take care of you? Aren’t you worth more?” (see Luke 12:22-29). The answer: absolutely. You are worth Jesus’ precious blood. Your Father will take care of you.

Jesus says, “Trust me. Only pray like this: Give us today our daily bread.”

Author: David Scharf
Volume 112, Number 03
Issue: March 2025