Many of us have trouble relating to the prayer, “God, give us this day our daily bread.” Because our pantries are so packed and our bellies so full, we seldom ask for food. We ask for self-control. We say, “God, help me not to eat so much.” You won’t find books on surviving starvation, but you’ll find shelves loaded with books on losing weight.
That doesn’t negate the importance of the prayer, however. Just the opposite. We pray only to find our prayer already answered! At some point it occurs to you that someone is providing for your needs. You take a giant step in maturity when you agree with David’s words in 1 Chronicles 29:14: “Everything we have has come from you, and we only give you what is yours already.” You see, long before you knew you needed someone to provide for your needs, God already had.
