Seeking the Face of GodUsing the Ancient Prayer

Jesus Gave Us

“Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread”The Gospel of Matthew 6:5-14

Eating is a small, good thing in a time like this.

”~ Raymond Carver’s short story “A Small, Good Thing”“

5 And when you pray, you must not be

Matthew 6:5-13

like the hypocrites. For they love to standand pray in the synagogues and at thestreet corners, that they may be seen byothers. Truly, I tell you, they have receivedtheir reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door

Matthew 6:5-13

“…and pray to your Father who is insecret. And your Father who sees insecret will reward you. 7 “And when you pray, do not heap upempty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard for theirmany words. 8 Do not be like them, for

Matthew 6:5-13

“your Father knows what you need beforeyou ask him. 9 Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.10 Your kingdom come,your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Matthew 6:5-13

11 “Give us this day our daily bread,12 and forgive us of our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Leader: This is the word of the Lord!People: Thanks be to God!

Is it really necessary to pray for daily

bread?1

Don’t worry, Jesus. I’ve got

this one covered!

I don’t pray any more. I’ve given it up for Lent. Also for

Advent and Easter…. How can I maintain, without lying, that God has a hand in this meal?

”~ Publisher Don Brothy, Qtd. in Ryken’s When You Pray

“

“Take care lest you forget the LORD your God… lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live

in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is

multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God…

“Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have

gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he

who gives you power to get wealth….”

~ The Prophet Moses inDeuteronomy 8:11ff.

“And Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Truly, I say to

you, only with great difficulty will a rich man enter the kingdom of

heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go

through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to

enter the kingdom of God.”

~ Jesus of Nazareth in The Gospel of Matthew, 19:.22

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he

will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both

God and money.”

~ Jesus of Nazareth in The Gospel of Matthew, 6:24

“…give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.

Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so

dishonor the name of my God.”

~ The Words of Agur son of Jakeh inProverbs 30:8b-9 (NIV)

Praying this prayer is a revolutionary act against our

self-sufficient tendencies.

Key Point

What are we really saying

when we pray for daily bread?

2

We are saying, “We are dependent upon you, Lord.”

#1

Prayerlessness is our declaration of independence

from God.

”~ Anonymous“

We are saying, “Thank You” in advance.

#2

“Thanksgiving is an antidote to greed and envy.

It is a speed bump on our restless road of

acquisition…. When we give thanks we take our eyes off what we do not

have. God grows larger in our faith.”

“the grat-list"(gratitude)

~ The Apostle Paul in Romans 1:21

“For although they knew God, they

did not honour him as God or give

thanks to him…”

Praying this prayer is a revolutionary act of honouring our Father by giving thanks to

Him in advance.

Key Point

What is Jesus really teaching us by our need for daily bread?

3

Could it be that the very reason we have a sense of physical hunger is so that we can learn something

vital about spiritual hunger?

?

“‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for food that

perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you….

~ Jesus of Nazareth in the Gospel of John, 6:26-27, 33-35

“For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ And

they said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’ Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.’ ”

~ Jesus of Nazareth in the Gospel of John, 6:26-27, 33-35

“Creatures are not born with desires unless

satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby

feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim:

well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such

a thing as sex….

~ CS Lewis Mere Christianity

~ CS Lewis Mere Christianity

“If I find in myself a desire which no

experience in this world can satisfy, the

most probable explanation is that I

was made for another world….

“The danger is not lest the soul should doubt whether there

is any bread, but lest, by a lie, it should

persuade itself that it is not hungry.” ~ Simone Weil

Waiting for God

Praying this prayer is a revolutionary act in which we

say, “We hunger, Lord, and only you can give us the True

Bread of Life.”

Key Point