More word-for-word → more thought-for-thought.
Approximate order. AMP includes added explanations.
Question
What does asking for daily bread teach us?
Answer
Jesus teaches us to trust the Father for today’s needs and remember others when we receive and share.
Scripture 1
“Give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11, NIV). Ask the Father for the provision needed today.
Scripture 2
“Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8, NIV). The Father already knows our needs.
Scripture 3
“The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor” (Proverbs 22:9, NIV). Generosity shares food with those who lack it.
Prayer
Father, provide what we need today. Help us receive Your care and share with others. Amen.
Challenge
Today, with your family’s permission, choose one unopened food item your household can spare for a local food collection. Put it in a bag and ask an adult to help get it to the collection point. Remember that Jesus teaches us to ask for our bread, including the needs of others.
What does asking for daily bread teach us?
Jesus teaches us to trust the Father for today’s needs and remember others when we receive and share.
“Give us today our daily bread” (
Father, provide what we need today. Help us receive Your care and share with others. Amen.
Today, with your family’s permission, choose one unopened food item your household can spare for a local food collection. Put it in a bag and ask an adult to help get it to the collection point. Remember that Jesus teaches us to ask for our bread, including the needs of others.
Dive deeper
Context
In the New Testament Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches His disciples while the crowds listen to the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 6 contrasts prayer offered to impress people with prayer directed to the Father. After praying for God’s name, kingdom, and will, Jesus teaches His followers to ask for the ordinary provision they need today. This petition belongs within the Lord’s Prayer, not a promise that believers will never face hunger or hardship.
Read the surrounding passage →Meaning
Jesus welcomes ordinary needs into prayer. Bread was a basic food, and asking for daily bread recognizes our dependence on God for the necessities of life. We can name what we need without pretending to be self-sufficient. This prayer asks for provision rather than treating every desire as something God owes us.
Just before the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus says the Father already knows what we need. Prayer is not a performance that persuades an uninformed or reluctant God. It is an expression of trust and relationship. Receiving help through work, a family meal, a school program, or a neighbor’s kindness can be part of receiving God’s care.
Jesus teaches us to say our bread and give us. The prayer includes other people’s needs as well as our own. Proverbs 22:9 connects generosity with sharing food with those who lack it. That wisdom invites practical care, not a bargain for getting rich. We can ask God for daily provision and offer what we can to help another person eat.
Original language · Koine Greek
Τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον.This Greek edition belongs to the textual tradition used by the KJV. Other translations may follow a different Greek edition. Text: AO Lab · Edition & rights
The supplied Greek text is the Textus Receptus. The petition uses plural words for us and our within Jesus’ model prayer.
- ἄρτον (arton) · bread Strong’s G740 · dictionary entry, opens another tab
- This is a form of artos, a loaf or bread. Thayer also records its wider use for food, including Matthew 6:11. The ordinary image points to necessary provision, not unlimited possessions.
- ἐπιούσιον (epiousion) · daily / needed for the day Strong’s G1967 · dictionary entry, opens another tab
- This rare adjective occurs in the New Testament in the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew and Luke. Its derivation is debated; proposals include bread needed for subsistence and bread for the coming day. We should not make one proposed etymology a hidden certainty. In this prayer, the request concerns dependence on the Father for needed provision.
The short prayer makes room for real bodily needs and includes other people in the word our.
Language sources: Thayer / Strong’s G740: artos · Thayer / Strong’s G1967: epiousios
Discuss together
How does praying for our bread change whom you remember when you have food to share?
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Made Alive in Christ
Reflection prepared by School Alive.
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