You are my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation! Psalm 89:26 

Give us today our daily bread. Matthew 6:11

In the verse from Psalms, we read a proclamation that God is the rock of the writer’s salvation. In it, God is addressed as Father, and God. The theme of this Psalm is an exploration of God’s faithfulness to David and the covenant made with him. Addressing God as “Father,” according to one commentary, probably wasn’t something David would have done, but was begun a bit later. In any case, it is the image of a God who is close to people, close to all of us.

Then, we read the very familiar line from The Lord’s Prayer – give today us our daily bread. This reminded me that there is Luther’s catechism with some explanations that we all learned at some point in confirmation.. The image of a loving Father is of one who would not want any of His children to go hungry. Luther reminds us that God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, but we pray that God will lead us to realize this is what happen. And, that we should receive our daily bread with thanks to our Creator.

What is meant by daily bread? It includes everything that we need – food, drink, clothing, shelter, family, home, animals, love of spouse and children. Luther also includes good weather, peace, health and more. We may not have all of this all the time; there are many who lack even actual daily bread. Yet just as God is Father to all, there is daily bread provided for all. We accept this gift with praise.

Holy God of our salvation, we praise your holy name. You are our rock, our salvation, and our daily bread. Forgive us when we turn to other things to satisfy our needs. Thank you for providing us with our daily bread, as we trust in your provision. We give thanks for your steadfast love and faithfulness. Amen.

Chris Gabel

Ministries
Teaching Mission Party