August 30th, 2020
Devotional
“The Lord’s Prayer - Our Daily Bread"
Luke 11: 2-4
Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com
Monday: “Give” - Luke 11:3
For the last few verses of both this version of the Lord’s Prayer and the one found in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus has been teaching the disciples about who God is. God is Father. God’s name is to be hallowed or made holy. Praying that God’s Kingdom come. But now, in the third verse, the tone changes from who God is to what we can look to God to provide as his children.
This section section of the prayer starts with a powerful word - give. To look to someone to give you something is to acknowledge either that they have it or that they have control over it. Think about that in terms of what we are praying for this week - food. Bread. That which sustains us. In one simple word, Jesus is reminding his disciples that this God’s to offer to us as a good gift.
How do you see food as a gift in your life?
Prayer: God, we thank you for reminding us today that you are the giver of all good gifts. That it is you, O Lord, who provide for us our daily bread. It is you who meets our every need. May this reminder ever be constantly before us as we learn to trust you more. Amen.
Tuesday: “Us Each” - Luke 11:3
Whenever I take time to study the Lord’s Prayer, I am always struck by Jesus’s intentionality behind the words that he chooses to use. Especially in Luke’s version of this prayer - no word is wasted or out of place. So what could Jesus be getting at by praying “Give us each….”
Sometimes we can get so caught up in thinking about our immediate needs, we can forget to be praying for those same things to be provided for our neighbors. If I am praying for my daily bread, am.I praying for my neighbors as well? If I am praying for healing in my life, am I praying that same prayer for others?
Jesus is not teaching his disciples to pray an individualistic prayer - he is teaching them to pray a communal one. It is not about praying that God give me my daily bread, its about praying that God give us each our daily bread. Together.
How do you lift up others in prayer? Are you praying for them the same way that you pray for yourself?
Prayer: Lord, we thank you for the reminder, even in the few short sentences of this prayer, that we are to pray not just for ourselves, but for others as well. Humble our spirits to notice the needs of others, we pray. Amen.
Wednesday: “Our” - Luke 11:3
In a similar vein, when it is not just my food that I am praying for, but our food. A lot can shift when we start to think in terms of our food. It can change what we offer to people when they come to our house. It can change what we donate to the food bank. It can change how we treat the people in line with us at the restaurant. “Our” is an invitation to realize that we all need food to survive - not just some of us. And what we want for ourselves, we should desire for others as well.
When we string it together “Give us each our…” we start to get a clearer picture that we are praying to God, the great provider, for each of our needs to be met in a way that shows honor and dignity, worth and grace.
How is the use of the word “our” inviting you to think about what you consume differently in relationship to other people?
Prayer: Almighty God, even through the simplest of words and phrases you are inviting us to be transformed. Speak to our spirits, Precious Lord, and open our hands in a posture of sharing what you have blessed us with. Amen.
Thursday: “Daily” - Luke 11:3
When the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years, God provided mana from them daily from heaven. They were to gather only what they needed for that day, except for the day before the Sabbath when they gathered enough for two days. If they tried to store up extra it went bad.
Do I think we are to go and harvest whatever we need for the day each and every day? No. Nor do I think we need to go to the grocery store every day to get just what we need for that particular day. Instead, I believe the word daily is an invitation to depend upon God. To trust that God will provide.
It is especially important to remember who Jesus is teaching to pray this prayer. His disciples who have left their homes and jobs to go and follow him. Some days they don’t know what they are going to eat or where they are going to lay their heads, yet God provided.
If God can provide mana in the wilderness and for the disciples on their journey, can God not provide for us as well?
How has God provided for you? What can remind you of that provision in times when it is hard to trust?
Prayer: God, thank you for the invitation to trust you more each and every day. Let us not forget, O God, who you are and how you have richly blessed us, especially in times of distress and need. Teach us to lean into your provision and love, we pray. Amen.
Friday: “Bread” - Luke 11:3
“Bread” is not just bread in scripture. It is symbolic. It is a reminder that a little can go a long way. Think back to the stories in the Gospels where five loaves and two fish fed thousands. Or how at the end of the Gospels, Jesus would take the simple unleavened bread of the Passover Meal, bless it, break it, and give it new meaning.
We are created to need bread. To need food for our bodies, but also to need the Bread of Life for our spirits. Daily. The question that this prayer invites us to consider is how are we learning to be fed and how are helping to feed others?
What do you think of when you hear the word “bread”? What memories does it bring back to you? What scripture passages are you reminded of?
Prayer: God, we pray again this day, Give us each our daily bread. Let us not pray hallow words quickly, but may we mediate on their meaning and allow them to transform us and how we communicate with you, O Holy God. Amen.
Saturday: Preparing for the Word
You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic to prepare for worship: “The Lord’s Prayer - Forgive Us” - Luke 11: 2-4
No comments:
Post a Comment