There wasn’t much in the wilderness. There wasn’t much at all. They couldn't go to the grocery store, or pick food from their garden. That wasn't an option, so day after day God’s people depended on Him to provide their food - manna and quail. And morning after morning, night after night, day after day, year after year (for forty years!) God provided.
God gave them their daily bread. He met their needs.
In preparation for Sunday, I invite you to read through Deuteronomy 8. It’s forty years later. God’s people are about to enter the Promised Land. God warns them: don’t forget. In the land of plenty, in the land where you can grow your own food and find your own water and build your own houses don’t forget that it is He who provides, it is He who sustains, it is He who provides their daily bread. God warns them not to allow themselves to think that they are their own providers, that they don’t need God.
It’s a good warning for us today too. We pray “Give us today our daily bread,” and yet our cupboards are stocked, our fridges have plenty of food and likely some leftovers, we have some money in our bank accounts, and, at least for the most part, dependable income of some sort. God is our provider. He gives us our daily bread. He sustains us. But do we recognize that as we save up for our vacations and our retirements and decide which dessert to make for supper? Or do we fall into the trap that God warned us about and think that we don’t need him on a daily basis, for our daily needs?
We pray, “Give us today our daily bread,” but what does it mean to pray for our “daily bread” when we have more than we need? What does praying that prayer require of us?
I invite you to reflect on Exodus 16 and Deuteronomy 8 … and to think about all that Jesus means when he instructs us to pray for our daily bread.
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What are our needs?
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What does it mean to ask God to meet our basic needs on a daily basis (and to trust that He will provide daily)?
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How does our celebration of the Lord’s Supper on Sunday help us understand the request for “daily bread” better, or in a different way?
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How does this request point us to Jesus and what He has done for us? (see John 6:25-59)
If there are any Bible passages that you would like to share about “daily bread” (God providing for our needs - physical, spiritual, emotional, relational, ...) or if you think of any other questions that we could reflect upon together please leave a comment below.