Give us this day our daily bread.
Matthew 6:11
We need food to survive, and the Lord knows this. When we don’t eat, chances are we feel lousy, irritable, hungry, forgetful, and angry.
While mulling over Matthew 6:11, one of the things that struck me was how we can ask God not just for our daily physical food, but also for our DAILY spiritual food.
God made each day, having ordained and written about each one of them before they came to be (see Psalm 139:16). This means each day is filled with specific grace to help us reach our goals for that particular day and overcome that day’s obstacles. Therefore, our Heavenly Father is the best person to give us counsel on daily matters, questions, and activities. The question is, do we seek for what He says daily? Do we spend time with Him, asking Him for His Word to sustain us? Because each day is ordained, I believe that God has a specific word for us each day.
Many times, the Bible sits on the shelf waiting for us to be hungry for Jesus. Often, we fill our souls up with food that doesn’t last—food like the latest series on Netflix, social media, news of the country, goals for the day… and while these are not necessarily evil, we must ask ourselves if they have replaced our time for God and His Word.
A good question to ask ourselves is: Are we excited for God to speak to us like we are excited for the latest Netflix series?
We need the kind of food that can sustain life. We need the Bread of Life to be able to take up our cross daily and follow Jesus. Jesus sustains. Jesus revives. The longing of the psalmist for the Lord should be the same for us: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God. When shall I come and appear in God’s presence?” Psalm 42:1-2
How hungry are we for God? Do we long for Him? When Jesus declared that He was the Bread of Life in John 6:35, He added: “Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” He alone can satisfy us beyond anything the world can offer.
Our lives are a gift. We have been given the beauty of discovering how each day unfolds with God by our side. Let’s make our days count and ask our Father to speak to us everyday. He is so willing. He wants us to listen and savor His presence and His Word.
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4
Janina Marie Rivera is the Editor-in-Chief of One Voice Magazine, a teacher of world literature, and a student of the Bible. She enjoys reflecting on life’s curve balls and plateaus. She resides in the Philippines, the country known for people who smile a lot.
