Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread: A Prayer

You taught us to pray, O Lord, "Give us this day our daily bread"
To remind us that you are the God from whom all blessings flow
For we often take things for granted, and live as if we are capable of being truly self-sufficient
We boast our achievements, and forget it is you who give us the power to make wealth

The truth is we can only ask "Give us O Lord..." like a beggar begging for mercy
For our daily needs are supplied each day by your loving provision
The food we eat, coffee we brew, jeans we wear, house we live in
The health and sanity we hold dearly, job we work, friendship we treasure,
The broadband we surf the net with, and... ah, Lord, you know our ever-growing list of needs

For what do we have that we did not receive you; we have no reason to boast ourselves
As you provided manna from heaven for your children for forty long years
so are our daily needs given by a gracious Father to whom we owe our lives

You taught us to pray, O Lord, "Give us this day our daily bread"
To make us be a contented person daily as you supply our needs, not wants
You wants us to live one day at a time, not be anxious about the future

So we individually pray o Lord: Give me neither poverty nor riches
Feed me with the food that is needful for me,
Lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.

Indeed you can give me abundantly should you choose to do so
Serving me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies.
And the overflowing cup of blessings that tastes heaven
But other times you want me to go through times of need
To tear down my pride and self-absorbed tendency

Help me learn in whatever situation to be content.
Help me learn the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
So I can say "I can do all things through him who strengthens me"
Freely submits to and delights in the Father's wise disposal in every circumstance

You taught us to pray, O Lord, "Give us this day our daily bread"
So that when we pray for our needs, that is done solely for one three-pronged purpose
that should become our primary concern, our preoccupation in life:
Hallowed be thy name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth
When we pray for our needs which are temporal, may we do it in view of the eternal

We pray for health, not so that we can continue living in sin, but so that we can serve you with all our might
We pray for food, not so we can satisfy our tastebuds, but so that we have the stamina to carry on your will in our lives
We pray for our partners, not so that they love us more, but so that they love you more than anything or anyone else in their lives
We pray for our kids, not so they can grow up to be nice and smart kids, but so that their lives are spent for the sake of God's kingdom
We pray for the degree we are doing, not so that we can graduate with honour, but so that it equips us to redeem the field we will be working in after we graduate
We pray for our business, not so that we become like Buffett or Gates, but to be able to give more to the Lord's work and to do the business in God's way and for God's glory
We pray for promotion, not so that we can gain top dollars, but so that we can be more effective salt and light in the new position
We pray for a new house, not so we can boast about it nor live in it like a king, but so that we can show hospitality to others
We pray for a new car, not so we can enjoy comfort at the next level, but so that we can assist those without transport to church
We pray for all our needs, so that God's name be hallowed, God's kingdom come, God's will done on earth

You taught us to pray, O Lord, "Give us this day our daily bread"
To remind us that we can’t say the Lord’s prayer in first person –
Saying I, me, my, mine, myself and be enslaved by that desire
For we can only say 'us, us, and us", remembering those around us
And the millions in the world who go to bed each night hungry and helpless

Everytime we pray "Give us today our daily bread", remind us of our world
Where 923 million people are hungry.
Where every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger; one child every five seconds. 
Where 1.4 billion people lived below the international poverty line, earning less than $1.25 per day.
Where every year about 9.7 million children died before they reached their fifth birthday

We pray o Lord for the world where everyone has the basic needs fulfilled
And until that happens, help us to never stop fighting on their side
In prayer and action, in thoughts and deeds, speaking for those who can't speak for themselves
In our respective God-given capacity and according to God's given talents

You taught us to pray, O Lord, "Give us this day our daily bread"
To remind us that our needs will never be satisfied by the bread of this world
Our needs for companion in friendships
Our needs for happiness in marriage
Our needs for meaning and purpose in life
Our needs for a sense of security in our jobs
Our needs for a sense of belonging and acceptance by others
Our needs for a sense of achievements and success
All those needs, once fulfilled, only lead us to deeper hunger and thirst
For those needs are pointers to our deepest need, o Lord, that is you
Only the Bread of Life can satisfy our deepest longing

Amen.