It has been quite some time since I have posted a blog entry
here. I had some computer issues, and then time constraints and the fact that I
had been stalled in the middle of a "series" of entries discussing
the Lord's Prayer made it hard for me to get going again. But I have been
feeling a strong need within myself to continue the discussion. So for any who
wish to read the entries before, there are links on the side of this post. I am
going to continue from where I left off. We are at verse 11:
"Give us this day our daily bread."
The first three parts of the Lord's Prayer dealt with how
people are to approach and react to God. The next four deal with how we want
God to treat us, what we want and need from Him. They are requests or
petitions.
"This day" God wants us to walk with Him and live
in spiritual connection and fellowship with Him. In recovery we often hear the
phrase "One day at a time," and there is Christian hymn with that
phrase as its title. It is a simple fact that we can only live one day at a
time, and trying to do anything else either mires us in the past or breeds
anxiety and worry over the future. I have mentioned to some who act as though
they have changed their life by staying sober one day at a time that, no matter
how hard I tried to do otherwise, I could only get drunk and high one day at a
time as well. But a daily focus of life is something God wants for us. Related
to this portion of the prayer is the Old Testament example of Exodus 16: 13-21
where the manna from heaven was given daily. The miracle bread keeping the
children of Israel alive only came in sufficient amounts for one day (two before
the Sabbath) and any leftover or saved was ruined and worthless the next
morning. The message from God was clear that today's bread will not do for
tomorrow.
Epiousios is a unique and rare Greek word
translated here as "daily." It was used in the Egyptian writings in
the context of a master giving a servant or slave enough food to accomplish an
assigned task or for one day of labor. Another word, kath hemeran, is
used for daily in the rest of the New Testament. This implies that more is
being conveyed by the word daily than a 24 hour period. The Tyndale Commentary
on Matthew has “Give us the necessary strength so that life’s trials
do not become for us occasions of spiritual temptations,” p. 74. For me this
instruction to ask of God, and expect to receive, sufficiency in all areas for
what needs to be done to stay in and complete the will of God, not less where
we might fear or become desperate to try to do things on our own strength but
also not more where we might become greedy, lazy or complacent. This idea
behind the interpretation of this word is part of why I usually pray,
"Give us this day our daily strength" rather than "bread."
The word is used in the New Testament only here and in the parallel verses in
Luke.
First of all, we are asking for bread, this is the
literal translation of the Greek, as the basic food of the body. But
metaphorically we are asking for more. Biblically, bread is a synonym for all food.
Speaking more broadly, it also includes clothing and shelter. St.
Augustine pointed out, "we ask for these temporal things not as our goods
but as our necessities" (Sermon 2 on Matthew ch.5). We should not be
seeking luxuries. Rather, "having food and wherewith to be covered, with
these we are content" (1 Timothy 6,8). Solomon wisely prayed: "Give me only the
necessaries of life" (Proverbs 30,8).
Our Lord, in this
prayer, teaches us to ask the Father modestly and with trust in His love, care
and desire for good for us for bread, assured that He knows best our needs. To
ask for more, at least for me, makes it easy to slip back into selfishness and
self centeredness, which is the root of my spiritual sickness and will
eventually lead to a relapse in my recovery if I don’t realize and recognize it
in time to rid myself of self once again. Also, I don’t usually know what best
serves the eternal and God’s will or what I truly need. If I had everything I
thought I needed, I would usually be in a mess. While we may ask for many
things, we should do so in confident surrender to the loving providence of God.
When I ask for only what I need, letting God determine what
that is, I know He will provide it. I will have the strength and grace to stay
clean and sober and to serve others.
This attitude frees me from selfishness, and ironically, letting the
self die is the way I have found to be happy, joyous and free while living a
life worth living and of purpose.
