Neville Turley

“….. 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 dishonour the name of my God.”  Proverbs 30:8 (NIV)

This is a brief petition of only six words but every word is loaded with meaning.  When we pray this petition we are recognising our Heavenly Father as the giver of the food we need.  We can do so with confidence for God made provision to do just that in the Garden of Eden.  “Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.”(Genesis 1:29 (NIV))

The bread for which we pray passes through many hands before it reaches us.  The farmer who plants the seeds and reaps the harvest. The miller who sorts and grinds the wheat into flour and the baker who bakes the bread. Overseeing the entire process is God’s almighty hand.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said we must pray “Give us”. When we pray we must not forget that the bread we ask for is not only for ourselves alone. Bread is a gift from God and it is our duty as Christians to share the blessings we receive with others.

Many people today are living below the bread line and struggling to eke out an existence.  The Bible charges us to reach out to them but no one can be receptive to the Gospel of Christ when hunger pangs are gnawing at their empty stomach.

Our verse for today helps us to understand why we must turn to the Lord in prayer each and every day for our daily bread.  Pray that God will grant us the grace to do so.

Prayer:  O Lord our God, may we through the Holy Spirit be continually aware of our total dependence on you, both for our life and every aspect of it.  This we ask in Jesus name. Amen