Part of the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6 says, “Give us today our daily bread.” Daily bread in this prayer signifies not just food for the day but also daily provision in general. Daily provision of  grace. Daily provision of forgiveness. Daily provision of understanding and anything else you can think of. What I find interesting about this prayer is that it does not say “monthly bread” or “yearly bread.” It seems pretty clear here that God’s desire is that his kids would be dependent on him for their daily needs. To be honest with you, I don’t really like the idea of this.

I like feeling like I have it all figured out on my own. I don’t want to feel like I need God to show up day in and day out. I definitely want to see him show up in major ways throughout the course of my life and I don’t mind the idea of needing him in the bigger moments but that’s about it. God knows something about us that we seem to forget about ourselves and that’s that our hearts are most alive when they are most connected to him. If he just gave us everything that we need for a lifetime, perhaps we wouldn’t bother seeking him that much. God choosing to give us our daily bread and no more keeps us coming back to him. I believe this reveals one of the greater truths about God’s desire for us. God wants us to be in relationship with him and this is something I tend to forget about. I typically want him to give me what I need and then stay out of my hair. This reflects a really selfish mentality and one that has a tendency to forget the amazing privilege that it is to be in relationship with God.

Next time you pray, be sure to thank God for providing for you in the small ways. Perhaps this will also remind you that he ultimately wants to be in relationship with you and that it’s not really about you getting what you need. God does desire to meet our daily needs but this takes a backseat in his mind to us knowing him and being known by him.