Luke 11
1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father,[a]
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.[b]
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.[c]
And lead us not into temptation.[d]’”
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.[b]
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.[c]
And lead us not into temptation.[d]’”
This is the third day that I've read/contemplated this passage. And I admit that the last two days, I've read it, stared into space, thought a lot, sighed... and then closed the computer. For reasons I couldn't quite put into words, this passage was just a little bit overwhelming to me. But tonight, Jess, Brennan, and I were on our way to Logan's to use a gift card, and suddenly it hit me what was making it hard.
"Give us each day our daily bread." I don't live in a world where people pray for this. I live in a world where abundance is the norm, where we pray instead for self control to keep from eating so much of the daily bread. Hmm. I've honestly never thought about this before, but I have to admit that just the thought sort of made me want to throw up.
There's a hashtag on twitter that, honestly, has really made me think about the things I complain about. It's #firstworldpains, and it's full of the nonsense that rotten Americans like me gripe about all the time (seriously!). Things like, "I'm so thirsty, but I'm too tired to go get the case of water out of my trunk. #firstworldpains". Or, "I'm slightly warm with my hoody on, but slightly cold with my hoody off. #firstworldpains". Or, "McDonald's was out of ice cream and I drove all the way out there for a milkshake. :( #firstworldpains". You get the picture. We're spoiled.
So how do we apply a verse like, "Give us this day our daily bread"? Well, I've been thinking about it all night. First, we need to be aware that many, even most, of our concerns are "first world pains". I couldn't count the number of times I've said I was hungry, but I've never known hunger. I need to be consistently more aware of that fact. Second, we need to be genuinely and constantly grateful that we have all we need. No more yapping because the McDonald's girl gave me a Filet-O-Fish instead of a Big Mac. I have everything I need, and that is enough. Third, we need to be content with what we have. I'm realizing that what this means is a sense of peace that I've been given all I need for life and godliness. That should give us a quiet and constant joy.
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