Daily Dependence
“Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,” (Matthew 6:9-11a)
Daily, we are dependent. The late Benjamin Morgan Palmer (1818–1902) once described prayer as “the language of creaturely dependence.” I much prefer this definition over the frequently used alternative – “talking to God.” The latter definition implies that mankind is on equal footing with God, sharing a few stories from our weekend escapades. However, bumming lunch off a friend and asking God Almighty for daily bread are as different as noon from night. We are far from equal footing. God stands as Creator; we stand as creatures. God stands independent from all things; we stand dependent upon Him for all things. God is “the only fountain of all good,” we are as dry and thirsty as Mississippi soil in summertime.
Daily, we stand in need of bread. For those who are gluten-free, let me offer as way of reminder that “bread” functions as a synecdoche, as a word that stands in place of all of our needs – bread, water, shelter, air, provision, strength, and the list goes on and on. Each day, God continues to provide us a daily portion. On long days, I have always been amazed how far a pack of Nabs will go. The strength comes not from the Nabs; the strength comes from God’s blessing. As with Gideon’s 300, God can make incredibly small forces conquer innumerable challenges. He is teaching us through the pack of Nabs and through Gideon that our trust is not in earthly powers, in the nutritional content of our environmentally friend food source. Our trust is in the Lord who made heaven and earth. However, when is the last time we have asked for such things? How often has “daily” become “dire necessity”? We call upon God when our strength has run out instead of acknowledging that we have no strength without His daily blessing.
Daily, we are thankful. Every day, God feeds the birds of the air and the man of the earth – even when he does not deserve it. As Jeremiah reminds us, “It is because of the Lord’s mercies that we have not been consumed.” (Lam. 3:22 KJV) If God stopped feeding us, no, if God stopped thinking about us, we would be no more (Hebrews 1:3). Whether God feeds us with the bread of prosperity or the bread of affliction, whether we God gives us a cold glass of sweet tea or tears of bitterness to drink, we have every reason to be thankful daily. For those who are not thankful, every pack of Nabs, every loaf of bread, every cold sip of water will cry out against us on Judgment Day as witnesses of God’s daily kindness to us.
