Prayer: Give us our daily bread.

Our society has just a little too much.

That's something you've heard before isn't it? Over a third of the food produced in North America ends up thrown away. We put mountains of clothes in the landfills. We have large homes filled with stuff, so we buy space, lockers, and rooms and sheds to put more stuff. We've got just about everything we need in excess... if we're lucky.

So for the average Canadian who can afford both food and shelter, what is the purpose and meaning behind Jesus' prayer, "Give us today our daily bread." When we live and don't worry about where our next meal will come from, what we will wear, or where we will sleep that night, what purpose does this prayer of asking and relying on God for the necessities of life actually have for us.

If you're anything like me, growing up in the church we seemed to naturally find meaning for this prayer in a metaphorical interpretation of it. In an attempt to make this prayer 'relevant' we changed every basic meaning it can have. "Us" becomes "me." "Daily" becomes "the future." And last "bread" becomes "whatever it is we're after at the time."

Just consider this. The basic meaning of this prayer is a communal request for the needs of life on a daily basis. Have you ever actually prayer this with that intent? More likely you pray "give me" without even thinking about it. We individualize the prayer without a second thought, removing all the wonderful meaning that comes from praying with a communal perspective. More likely you don't pray 'today' with the expectation that God will meet your needs or answer prayer 'today.' More likely you pray for things that you want, desire, or will make life easier and more comfortable, rather than for the real needs we have in life.

The challenge that this prayer gives, I think, is simple. That we have created a mentality far from what was intended when Jesus taught us how to pray. We pray with the intention of the individual without thought of including ourselves in the communal nature of the church or world. Instead we can pray understand ourselves as a part of a whole, but even more, also as an essential part of the whole which needs to be fully engaged. We pray always for the future. Instead we can learn to pray and expect God's intervention on a daily basis. Finally, we pray with broad and vague needs. Instead we can be specific and ask God exactly what it is we're looking for.

Discussion:

1. When you pray for others do you "see yourself in the group?"
• Needy, sinful, lacking, sick, unwise, lost.
2. Do you pray daily with expectation that God will answer your prayer today? Why not?
3. Do you keep your prayers specific or vague? How so?
• Vague Christianese buzzwords: Understanding, wisdom, bound, guidance, protection, strength, etc...
4. Take prayer requests with the following conditions:
1. Something personally important (not for someone else).
2. Something you can expect God to make a difference with today.
3. Specifics, specifics, specifics...