From “Our Father”

      As we prayed the Our Father in yesterday’s service, I was stricken by a very powerful observation concerning what the Lord Jesus has directed us to pray.

      In earlier occasions I have also observed that the Lord Jesus teaches us to pray differently than He prayed and prays. Whenever Jesus prays, He prays: “My Father.” But He teaches us to pray: “Our Father.” This is because Jesus is the only-begotten of the Father, even from eternity. Jesus is truly one with the Father. We are made to be brothers of Jesus, created in His image, for Jesus is the very image of God.

      In His prayer for His disciples Jesus prayed that they would be made one even as He and the Father are one. He did not in any way imply that we would be one with Father, except that we are made to be one in Jesus. In Jesus we are made to be one, even as in the Godhead the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are one. In Jesus, in His body, we are married to God, as St. Paul declares this mystery in Ephesians 5. We are not married to God as individuals, but together as the bride of Christ. Thus we pray, “Our Father.”

      In this connection, as we pray the Our Father, I observed yesterday another affirmation that this prayer is really very simply an extended “Amen!” to all that God teaches us in the Holy Scriptures. I observed that the Fourth Petition begins a reiteration and explanation of what we prayed in the first three petitions. In the first three petitions we affirm that as our Heavenly Father, God proclaims His holy will to be that His kingdom comes to us even now as we live our earthly lives and that His good and gracious will be worked to us and in us so that we live in accord with His good and gracious will within His Holy Church and in our daily lives. Having prayed this as what God’s will is for His beloved children, we then affirm this as our Daily Bread, our daily need fully supplied by our loving Father. Then we affirm that God’s kingdom coming to us through our baptism and being renewed among us in the Holy Supper, we receive God’s promise to forgive us freely of all of our sins so that we eagerly will also freely forgive all others for whom Jesus has won this forgiveness. We then further acknowledge that this is the very means by which God delivers us from the evil one and all of the evil in the world so that we live in the safety of His household all our days. We then conclude, praying an extended doxological Amen.

      Truly the Lord is our Shepherd and as His beloved sheep we shall have no want.

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Rogate versus Mother’s Day

Today is The Fifth Sunday after Easter - Rogate.  Rogate is Latin for “Ask ye,” from today’s Gospel reading:

     And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.  Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.  These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.  At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:  For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.  I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. 
     His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb.  Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God. (John 16:23-30)

The Lord Jesus tells His disciples: “For the Father has affection toward you-all because you-all Me held in affection and have believed that I from God have come out.”

Love is not a very good translation for this is not agape but philos.  This is not agape.  It is not the unconditional unidirectional love of John 3:16 by which God was moved to give His only-begotten Son to save the world.  This is the relational response of communion.  This is the Fatherly attitude of God with His adopted children who have been regenerated into the life of the body of Christ, who live in His agape, abiding in His Word, being guarded and kept in His peace that surpasses all understanding.

This is a lot like the emotionalism of Mother’s Day, where children of all ages desire to demonstrate that inborn affection that they hold for their mothers.  When that bond that was created through nine months of gestation and then the tender care of nursing is not broken by various interfering factors, the children and their mothers continue to hold each other in affection, desiring to be close.  And even when this bond is stretched or even broken, there often remains the desire for the closeness to be reestablished.

In the case of the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, God the Father affectionately listens to the prayers of His sons, “Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”   (John 1:13)

Within this holy household of faith, the Church of Jesus Christ, these beloved children whom the Father holds in deep affection are brought through the urging of the Holy Spirit into the unity of the one true faith.  They confess together the same doctrine.  They embrace the same practice.  They live and breathe and think and speak the same, in communion with their Lord Jesus.  They grow in this affection for their Lord and for one another until they truly think and speak as one.  They pray the very will of God that is has been made to be their own will.  And thus, God does and even must grant their requests.  After all, they are praying what He Himself has produced in them.

This is demonstrated in the Collect of the Day for this day of Rogate as well as last Sunday’s Collect.

     “O God, from whom all good things do come, grant to us, Thy humble servants, that by Thy holy inspiration we may think those things that be right and by Thy merciful guiding may perform the same; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. ”

     O God, who makes the minds of the faithful to be of one will, grant unto Thy people that they may love what Thou commandest and desire what Thou dost promise that among the manifold changes of this world our hearts may there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.

Notice what is prayed.  Notice what is taught.  Notice what is confessed.  Notice what is promised and granted.

Today I called a dear friend, a pastor in another state.  We spoke on the phone for nearly four hours.  In our conversation we each shared many things, things from our past, things currently taking place, things of deep theological nature, things of the life of the Church.  In our conversation we did not disagree on any point.  As we discussed very important and deep matters, we were in true concord.  He spoke of things that he learned and received from me and I spoke of what I learned and received from him.  Even as we each heard new things that we had not previously given proper attention, as we heard these things from one another as they flow from the Holy Scriptures, we readily agreed with one another.

This is what God promises.  His sons, His daughters, will hear and acknowledge together what He reveals as His Word and Will.  His children will readily move toward the unity of the true faith.

Afterwards I called my mother.  We do not share this unity together.  We hold each other with the affection of blood, but not of Spirit.  We do not even dare to converse regarding the deep things of faith, because we have not that common bond.  Over the years she has remained with the church body that has departed from that united confession and practice and faith.  She has moved in the same direction, a direction that no longer allows us to speak openly in full agreement.

I also encouraged my wife to call her mother, with whom we are estranged.  She, too, has chosen to remain with the church body that has drifted into the worldly and disintegrated ways.  My wife and her mother both expressed their desire to be close, but the discussion ended with acknowledgment that her mother no longer believes such unity to be possible.  Her mother openly denies that it is possible for the Church to have what my friend and I expressed in nearly four hours of intense theological discussion, true unity and agreement.

My wife and I were very saddened by this, but as we were expressing our deeply felt grief another dear pastor called to share the jubilant news of the baptism that he performed this very day.  A sweet newly born baby was baptized into the body of Christ from a couple who were unmarried and not members of Christ’s body when this baby was born.  But now the parents are eagerly receiving the pure Word from this pastor, and are excitedly growing in the faith that has been handed down by the prophets and apostles and the Church to this very day.  And so our hearts turned from sorrow to great joy in the Lord and His faithfulness.

It boggles my mind that my family and my wife’s family no longer believe this to be possible.  Once upon a time they professed this as their belief, but no longer.  They have chosen tolerance in place of unity and the pretense of not judging for falsely judging both us and the faith of Jesus.  But the unity that God promises does still exist in His Church, not only the Church triumphant, that is, not only the Church in heaven, but also the true Church on earth.  For where Jesus is truly confessed as Lord, that is, where the Word rules the Church, true unity is produced.  It cannot be otherwise.

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Crap! Crap! Crap!

I am really tired of all of the crap!

Yet I find myself neck deep in it every day. Everywhere I turn, more of it. It piles up all around me. It stinks! It makes moving forward in a positive manner seemingly impossible.

Thank God for Sunday and the divine service! Thank God for the Our Father (Lord’s Prayer)! Thank God for the Creed! Thank God for the Catechism! Thank God for the gift of my loving and faithful wife! Thank God for the life that we share in Him!

Suddenly the crap is gone!

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Free Will versus Freed Will

A recent conversation with one of my very dear customers demonstrates the difference between what we deludingly label as Free Will and what the Lord establishes as Freed Will. What we count as free will is actually our will that has been placed under the bondage of sinfulness. It is our will that rebels against God’s holy will. Thus it is will that is in need of being freed by God’s gracious intervention, freed by having its bondage to our sinfulness broken so as to be bound again in the freedom to enjoy the life of holiness that is found only in the Lord’s Holy Communion.

The truth is that our will is either in bondage to sinful rebellion or in bondage to holiness. The one way makes the way of holiness impossible while the other way sets us free to enjoy the way of holiness once more. This contrast of binding forces could be compared to the gravity experienced while in the proximity of earth versus the sense of weightlessness experienced apart from being bound to any large body. What could be perceived as freedom of existence apart from the binding force of gravity is the freedom to drift off into the nothingness of space. What sometimes is thought of as a restrictive bondage by gravity actually allows a person to move about freely, running and even jumping, without fear of drifting away into oblivion. Astronauts employ a tether to insure this freedom while working outside of their spacecraft.

The conversation in which we shared concerned the matters of the financial bondage that the government, which is owned by the Federal Reserve, continues to create for us. As we discussed this, the last several Presidents and the current President were brought forward. As we spoke especially of President Obama, I shared my deep and heartfelt appreciation for the Our Father and the General Prayer of the Church. I shared how these override my rebellious desire to pray against Obama and the other wicked leaders so that I am led to pray for them as God has decreed to be in accord with His holy will.

My friend, however, could only hear my rebellion. The sound of my admission of the power of my sinful nature drowned out the sound of my thanksgiving for the power of these prayers to work repentance in me so that by God’s gracious design I pray contrary to my will and in accord with His will. And so, while I would pray that God punish and get rid of these evil doers, instead, I am led to pray for their forgiveness and conversion, for their everlasting salvation, and even for their current good health and blessing of every sort.

Yet what we count as free will is what my friend heard so that I had to explain the meaning that I intended to convey. He asked me to make a copy of the General Prayer so that he could examine it. It seems to me to be good to display it here as well.

The General Prayer of the Church

Almighty and most merciful God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we give Thee thanks for all Thy goodness and tender mercies, especially for the gift of Thy dear Son and for the revelation of Thy will and grace; and we beseech Thee so to implant Thy Word in on us that in good and honest hearts we may keep it and bring forth fruit by patient continuance in welldoing.

Most heartily we beseech Thee so to rule and govern Thy Church Universal, with all its pastors and ministers, that we may be preserved in the pure doctrine of Thy saving Word, whereby faith toward Thee may be strengthened, charity increased in us toward all mankind, and Thy kingdom extended. Send forth laborers into Thy harvest, and sustain those whom Thou hast sent, that the Word of Reconciliation may be proclaimed to all people and the Gospel preached in all the world.

Grant also health and prosperity to all that are in authority, especially to the President and Congress of the United States, the Governor and Legislature of this Commonwealth, and to all our Judges and Magistrates, and endue them with grace to rule after Thy good pleasure, to the maintenance of righteousness and to the hindrance and punishment of wickedness, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

May it please Thee also to turn the hearts of our enemies and adversaries that they may cease their enmity and be inclined to walk with us in meekness and in peace.

All who are in trouble, want, sickness, anguish of labor, peril of death, or any other adversity, especially those who are in suffering for Thy name’s and for Thy truth’s sake, comfort, O God, with Thy Holy Spirit, that they may receive and acknowledge their afflictions as the manifestation of Thy fatherly will.

And although we have deserved Thy righteous wrath and manifold punishments, yet, we entreat Thee, O most merciful Father, remember not the sins of our youth nor our many transgressions, but out of Thine unspeakable goodness, grace, and mercy defend us from all harm and danger of body and soul. Preserve us from false and pernicious doctrine, from war and bloodshed, from plague and pestilence, from all calamity by fire and water, from hail and tempest, from failure of harvest and from famine, from anguish of heart and despair of Thy mercy, and from an evil death. And in every time of trouble show Thyself a very present Help, the Savior of all men, and especially of them that believe.

Cause all needful fruits of the earth to prosper, that we may enjoy them in due season. Give success to the Christian training of the young, to all lawful occupations on land, [air], and sea, and to all pure arts and useful knowledge; and crown them with Thy blessing.

Receive, O God, our bodies and souls and all our talents, together with the offerings we bring before Thee, for Thou hast purchased us to be Thine own, that we may live unto Thee.

Here special Supplications, Intercessions, and Prayers may be made

These and whatsoever other things Thou wouldst have us ask of Thee, O God, grant unto us for the sake of the bitter sufferings in death of Jesus Christ, Thine only Son, our Lord and Savior, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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Terribly Disturbing Doctrine of Prayer

Today I encountered a terribly disturbing doctrine of prayer.  The pastor who posted it imagines this to be godly and helpful.  But it is not the doctrine of the Holy Spirit that He teaches.  Far from it, it is the concoction of one who openly admits that he does not understand how to pray.  The post is entitled, Praying Alone.

Here are the opening statements of the post:

Jesus often spent time praying alone. Throughout the Scriptures we can find pictures of men and women who would go up on a mountain, meditate on God’s Word, and pray. There is great benefit in sitting back, removing yourself from the commotion and distractions of life, and hear what God has to say in His Word, and speak to Him in prayer about what troubles you, confessing your sins, and giving thanks for His mercies.

This is true. I know it is true. But I must admit that I don’t find this a natural practice for me.

To hear this from a pastor is very, very troubling to my spirit.  This poor man lives in a state of depression, according to his other writings.  He finds his life to be dark much of the time.

What he states above is the reason why.  This is very, very sad.

What is even more troubling is his fourth and final word of advice on prayer:

Remember that Christ prays for you even when you don’t pray. If you forget to pray for a day, be at peace! Christ prays for you even when you forget. Jesus is loving and forgiving, and longs to be in your presence. He will pray for you even if you don’t.

This is horrible!  It is absolutely false and destructive!

“If you forget to pray for a day, be at peace!” ???

Are you joking?  Be at peace?  How can I be at peace when I have turned aside from the only source of peace?  How can I be at peace knowing that I have cut myself off from God’s Holy Communion to such a degree that I don’t desire to pray for an entire day?

If this happens to a saint, if one who is baptized realizes that this has happened, the first thing to do is to stop everything and fall to one’s knees and call out, “O Lord, help me!”

Prayer is not something that one tries to do.  It is something that one does!  Trying to pray is ludicrous.  Just do it!  That is how prayer works.

Why pray?  Why did Jesus pray?  He prayed because He needed to hear from the Father.  That is what prayer is all about.

Consider what may perhaps be the most intense prayer ever prayed, the prayer of the Lord Jesus in His time of deepest distress and desperation:

My God!  My God!  Where the hell are You?

That prayer allowed Jesus to hear that the Father had not gone anywhere.  The prayer, prayed from the perspective of the blindness of our sinfulness, gave the immediate relief that Jesus needed.  Notice how His prayer began: “My God!”  That was the answer that He needed to hear.  And He did hear it so that He later prayed, “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit!”

I don’t have time this morning to do justice to this, but I want to convey at least this much: STOP TRYING TO PRAY!  Prayer is not from you but from God.  It is the outflow of faith, which is God’s gift.  When you need to pray (which is always, by the way) just do it.

If you need a list to remember what you need to include in your prayers, then those things are not really on your heart as genuine needs anyway.  Begin with what is on your heart right now.

If you need a list, the Lord Jesus gave us the Our Father and said “pray this.”  He also gave us the Catechism, that is, the 10 Commandments, the Creed, the Our Father, Baptism, Confession, and the Holy Supper of His Holy Communion.  Pray these.  The General Prayer of the Church in TLH on pg. 23 is also a wonderfully inclusive prayer.

Prayer is not hard.  It is as easy as recognizing that one has been baptized into God’s Holy Communion where God has named us as His beloved children, children whom He has commanded to use His name in faith, calling upon Him in every trouble, praying, praising, and giving thanks.  If something goes badly, call out to Him.  When things go well, give thanks.  When temptation comes, pray for help.  When sin overcomes, pray forgiveness and believe His promise that you are forgiven in Christ Jesus.

Don’t forget the “Amen!”  If you cannot say “Amen” to what you have prayed, keep praying till you can.  The Lord will lead you into the awareness of His will if you keep praying until you know that what you have prayed is according to His good and gracious will.  Don’t end your prayers with “If it be thy will.”  Notice how Jesus prayed.  He prayed “if it can be” and “if You are willing” but He kept praying until those temptations went away.  Yes, Jesus was sorely tempted to pray these things, but He did not enter into sin by continuing in these temptations.  He did not say “Amen” to them.  He kept praying until He fully acknowledged the will of the Father and said, “But not My will, but Thine be done!”  To this He could confidently say “Amen” and then rose up and went with joy to face the trials and the beatings and the injustice of the cross.

Pray, dear friend, until AMEN is all that is left to say.  Then, you won’t have to convince yourself that you have God’s peace, for God’s peace will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

Communication ≠ Contest

A lesson that seems to be very hard learned is that communication is not equal to contest.

This fact is especially hard for a person to acknowledge once the person has entered into an argument. An argument is a contest. Those in the argument are contesting one another, seeking to gain a superior position to the other, seeking to make one’s own point to prevail over the other’s.

This is actually the opposite of communication.

Communication is a giving and a receiving.

Argument is contestation. It is one sided from two opposing sides. It results in escalation. Argument continues until one side or the other or both begin to listen, to receive, and not just to attempt to give forcibly. Argument is violent.

Communication is peaceable. It begins with agreement on at least some point. It has agreement as its objective. It always includes listening with actual hearing.

An adage applied to communication is that a person is created with two ears and only one mouth for a reason.

Those who are wise remember this adage when attempting to communicate.

This is especially true in communication with God. We apply the term “worship” to this. Worship includes such things as prayer. Worship is communication where the two to one principle is absolutely necessary as we approach it. If we forget the two to one principle in this communication, it ceases to be true worship.

Jesus said:

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23-24)

Spirit and Truth, both are from the Father. Neither are from the worshiper. Worship is not something that is produced by the worshiper. This includes true prayer. True prayer is listening and hearing God.

The liturgy of the divine service is designed with this as its structure. This is why so many today desire to discard the historic liturgy. The liturgy teaches us to hear God. But people are inclined to want to tell God, not to hear God. And so the liturgy does not appeal to most people.

Jesus teaches that true worship is in spirit and in truth. Where are the Spirit and the Truth encountered? In the preaching and in the Sacraments. The Truth is the Word. Jesus is the Truth. He is present and continually speaks to us throughout the divine service where the Word is preached purely and the Sacraments are administered accordingly. The Spirit also is present and at work wherever the Word is present.

So what appearance then does true worship have? God speaks and the worshipers hear what God says. Then the worshipers respond with what they have heard, hearing yet again God’s grace, mercy, and peace proclaimed. Thus the two to one principle is in full effect. The worshipers hear God speak and they hear God again as they speak and sing what God has given to them to speak and sing. This is what the Lord Jesus teaches in the Our Father. This is what the prophets and the apostles admonish.

When this is the pattern that rules the hearts of those who confess faith in Christ, then this becomes the pattern in their daily lives. Their communication reflects this. Thus, when Christians are walking in spirit, they do not argue. When arguments arise, the person walking in spirit realizes that this is not communication and not the way of the peace of God and the person becomes silent until the other person is willing to speak peaceably. If that does not occur, the Christian walks away from the one who rejects his peace, which is really the peace of God.

Arguing is not equal to communication. Arguing actually has the opposite result of true communication. Remembering this when an argument is in the formative stages is invaluable. Those who do remember this are called blessed. (Matthew 5)

Help!

And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. (Psalm 50:15)

O Lord! O Lord! O Lord!

To the child of God who truly knows the Lord and fears, loves, and trusts in Him above all things, this is a true prayer.

There have been times where I have found myself praying:

The Lord is my Shepherd.
The Lord is my Shepherd!
The Lord is my Shepherd!!

For me, one who has been baptized into Christ Jesus and into His death and resurrection, one who knows and communes in the Holy Communion of Christ’s body, one who knows what it truly means that the Lord is my Shepherd, this is a true and complete prayer.

I have prayed this way at various times when my heart was troubled and I could not attain peace. My spirit was overwhelmed by the many troubles popping up around me. My heart felt as though it was racing toward the point of exploding. My mind could not focus. I was in trouble.

With those five words, all of the Twenty-third Psalm was at my heart’s assistance. All of the doctrine of the Holy Scriptures was flowing through my heart, mind, and soul. The confidence of a good conscience was restored in connection with the name of the Lord, the name given to me, as God’s baptized child. All of the assurance and comfort of the Holy Communion surrounded me as these words reminded me of God’s promise that for Christ’s sake I am a true and worthy partaker of His body and blood and of all that these heavenly gifts convey.

This is why the true faith is of absolute necessity in the Church. This is why compromise of doctrine and practice are forbidden by Our God and Father, the Good Shepherd. We need to be free of doubt concerning our relationship to God, the relationship that exists purely by the reconciliation that is worked through the pure administration of the means of grace. When we know that we are truly members of Christ’s body, when we have rightly discerned the body of the Lord so that we commune in the confidence of His body and blood regularly, then in moments of weakness and fear our hearts know instinctively where to turn, just as a frightened child instinctively cries out, “Daddy. Daddy! Daddy!!”

Anyone can cry out. Anyone can cry out, “O Lord, help me!”

However, when the person has not feasted upon the steady and pure diet of the pure and unadulterated Gospel, the prayer is not a cry of true faith. It is a prayer mixed with doubt, which is a prayer that has no power, no effect. For such a prayer is not truly in the name and power of Jesus. Rather, it is in the confusion of the person’s jumbled beliefs. It is a prayer based upon the person’s own faith and feelings. The person’s own faith and feelings have already failed. That is why the desperate cry for help is needed in the first place. Turning back again to one’s own faith and feelings has no power to help.

But the prayer of faith, true faith, the faith that comes from hearing the pure Gospel, this prayer is powerful in its effect. Such a prayer is called the prayer of the righteous man, for it is in the name and by the faith of the one true Man of righteousness. Therefore this prayer cannot fail, even as Jesus cannot fail.

The true faith can be known with absolute certainty and this faith never fails, for it is not produced by one’s own reason and strength and is not worked by oneself, but it is the gift of God by His grace. This is why we can pray without doubting. This is why our prayers are effective. God’s faithfulness is the source of our confidence. God’s faithfulness is our hope.

This is why the Lord Jesus teaches us to pray with petitions that are statements of what God has declared rather than with petitions that flow from our own perspective and desires and thoughts. Recite the Our Father and try to find a question or a request. You won’t find one. What you will find is what God has already promised in Christ Jesus. This is why we are commanded to pray believing that we WILL receive what we ask in the name of Jesus. We are to pray according to what God has declared is His will. If we pray according to what He has already declared to be His will, where is there any room for doubt?

The Lord is my Shepherd.
I shall not want!

This is not wishful thinking. This is a statement of fact. If we truly understand all that this declares to us, it is all that we need in our times of trouble.

God’s peace to you all in Christ Jesus, the Lord!

Our Daily Bread

Smack in the middle of the Our Father the Lord Jesus placed the Fourth Petition: “Give us this day our daily bread.”

What did the Lord Jesus mean by this? We usually hear from this the wonderful explanation that Dr. Luther supplies in the Small Catechism.

However, considering the context of the entire prayer, could it be that the Lord was teaching much more to us as His disciples?

Consider His declaration to the Jews in John 6:26-35.

Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? What dost thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

With this declaration from the lips of the Lord, does the Fourth Petition sound richer and fuller? Is there a reason that this sits in the middle of the prayer that He gave, saying, “When you pray, pray this”? Could it be that the Lord means for us to receive this petition as more than the center of the prayer but also the very foundation of our life of faith?

Since Jesus declares that faith in Jesus is the work of God, does it not seem fitting that He would teach us to pray that our Father in heaven would daily give us this bread of faith for our life in Him?

Wouldn’t you agree that this is “food” for thought?

Give Us Our Daily Bread

In our prayer that the Lord Jesus supplied us, He teaches what we are unwilling to hear.

Right in the middle of this prayer He teaches us to pray: “Give us this day our daily bread.”

What does this mean? Why is this placed in the center? We tend to want to put it first, asking for this and that need and want of body and soul. Yet the Lord Jesus places it squarely in the center of the prayer that He commands us, “Pray like this.” In our attempts at piety we may even be tempted to place this at the end of our prayers. But not our Lord. He places it in the center, where we cannot miss it.

Why?

Because this petition is not what we think it is.

If we examine this prayer carefully, very carefully, and if we examine it from the perspective with which our Lord commands us to pray, we learn that each petition is really a repetition of the previous one, with them all centering upon the central petition of “Give us this day our daily bread.”

If you doubt this, consider what Jesus told Satan.

Matthew 4:3-4

And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Then again in Matthew 6:31-33 the Lord declares:

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Is this not what the Our Father teaches us to pray? If so, then, where do we find our daily bread?

Acts 2:44-47

And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Is this not what our Lord teaches us to pray in the prayer that He gave to us?

If we prayed with this as our understanding, would we not continually say with David in Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. . . . Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.