What is my daily bread like chicken or a metaphor?

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Give us this day our daily bread. (Matt. 6:11)

These words draw our focus to a particular time—this day. It is recurring, a petition to be made again with each sunrise. These words would have reminded Jesus’ hearers of the Exodus, a period in Israel’s history when God provided just enough manna daily for the people to survive (see Ex. 16). They were wandering in a wilderness on their way to a promised land where God would be their king. They would have loved a grand stockpile of food. But God taught them to trust him afresh each morning as they awakened to find new manna on the ground. Trusting God for basic necessities would form the foundation for trust in greater matters.

Similarly, Jesus prepares his followers to trust God for what they need as they await the new kingdom that God is establishing through him. What was difficult for a first-century peasant may also be difficult for us, albeit for different reasons.

Reliance requires that we see our position in the world clearly. We are dependent creatures. We need the Lord for our physical and spiritual well-being. Notice that this prayer leads us to request not only daily bread but also protection from evil (Matt. 6:13), recognising that it is the Lord who leads us in all things. Perhaps it is easier to admit our helplessness in the grand scheme of the cosmos—we know that in Christ “all things hold together” (Col. 1:17)—yet we look for ways to maintain an independent streak within smaller areas of trust.

We casually fill our carts with meat, produce, and shelf-stable processed goods. The loaves we buy do not come in “daily bread” portions. We frequent arena-sized stores because they stockpile food, enough to overflow our pantries for weeks at a time. With such abundance available to us, a prayer for daily bread can seem disingenuous. So while the megagrocery store is a convenience, even a blessing from God, we should be suspicious of the comfort and security it promises.

Our first-century forbears, hearing the words of Jesus in the rural towns of northern Israel, could pray for their daily bread and mean it. May God help us to do the same, even if our bread lasts the week.


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