10.05.2025. Sunday Sermon by Pastor Jeungbok Lee
Scripture: Matthew 6:9-13
Title: The Prayer the Lord Taught Us (Second Part)
**Matthew 6:9-13**
Therefore, pray in this way:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Today, we will preach on "Give us today our daily bread" from the second part of the prayer the Lord taught us.
1. First, before preaching on this passage, it would be beneficial to briefly explain the second part of the Lord's Prayer.
Let us examine the tendencies of our prayers. In our daily lives, we pray to God. And among those prayers, the largest portion is probably prayers for our needs.
We believers pray to God for various things we need. We pray for health. We pray for our children to do well. We pray for our businesses to prosper. In my case, when the economy is as bad as it is now, before going to work at the restaurant, I pray to receive good tips. But the problem is that these prayers are too limited to material things needed in this world.
2. However, the Lord did not teach His disciples to simply pray only for daily bread. Jesus taught His disciples that prayers for themselves should include not only daily bread but also relationships with others and the issue of our own sins (spiritual matters).
Here is the structure of the second part of the prayer the Lord taught us:
Verse 11 - Give us today our daily bread.
In verse 11, Jesus tells His disciples to ask God our Father for our physical needs.
Verse 12 - And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Verse 12 is a prayer related to social relationships. Not forgiving those who have sinned against us (or owe us) is an evil manifestation stemming from our sinful nature. And this always breaks our relationships with our brothers and sisters. This prayer is precisely for human relationships. It is a prayer that makes faith life joyful and delightful. Whether church life is enjoyable depends on this relational aspect. I will preach in more detail next week.
Verse 13 - And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Verse 13 is an intercession for our spiritual issues. Satan always tempts us to sin and make us fall into evil. The enemy of believers, the devil, does not attack just once. He seeks to lead us into temptation at every moment. Therefore, we must beseech God our Father not to lead us into temptation but to deliver us from evil.
In summary, prayers for our needs are to pray for our physical needs, the restoration of relationships with others, and victory in spiritual matters.
The reason this intercession is important is that the lives of God's people do not become abundant through just one spiritual aspect or physical needs alone. Only through balanced prayer can we lead balanced faith lives and live the abundant life that God our Father has given us.
3. However, today we will preach only on verse 11: "Give us today our daily bread."
3.1) We who live in America do not pray worrying about what we will eat today. On the contrary, what we worry about is not "give us food to eat today," but which food is healthier for our bodies. But in Jesus' time, His disciples and audience, and later the believers in the early church among laborers, lived day by day earning their daily wage. Even Jesus' disciples had eating as their utmost concern.
**Matthew 16:6-10**
Jesus said to them, "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." They discussed this among themselves and said, "It is because we have not brought enough bread." Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, "You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Don't you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?"
Jesus fed five thousand through the miracle of the five loaves and two fish. The disciples experienced the amazing miracle of provision through God via Jesus. However, when Jesus warned His disciples to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees—that is, their teaching—the disciples' minds were filled not with the amazing meal from the five loaves and two fish, but with worry about how to prepare the next meal. So, upon hearing "yeast," they immediately thought of "bread," and worried that they hadn't brought food. That's why they were rebuked.
How about you? What fills your mind? Is it filled with desiring that God's name be hallowed and meditating on what God's will is? Or is it filled with daily bread—that is, seeking satisfaction for the flesh in everyday life?
When I was in university, my stomach was really bad. Every morning, it hurt and ached terribly. But one Sunday, the pastor mentioned in an illustration that lacquer chicken is extremely good for the stomach. I don't remember what the sermon was about even now, but I remember thinking, "I need to make lacquer chicken and eat it." At that time, my utmost concern was curing my stomachache. As a result, only the memory of lacquer chicken remained, not the content of the sermon. I forgot the gracious word.
3.2) So, what does "today" refer to? In other words, when should we pray for daily bread?
The word "today" means "every day" or in English, "the coming day." So, if I pray in the morning, "Give us today our daily bread," it is asking for that day's provision. On the other hand, if I pray this in the evening, it is for the daily bread of the coming day, the next day.
Praying for daily bread every day like this is based on the background of the Israelites who had come out of Egypt. The Israelites who had come out of Egypt lived on the manna, the daily bread that only the Lord God provided each day.
Similarly, the disciples must remember God the Father, who provides daily bread, in their daily prayers, whether in the morning or evening. The prayer that clearly reminds us of this is "Give us today our daily bread."
3.3) Then why did Jesus tell His disciples (us) to ask for daily bread in our daily lives?
3.3.1) It is a sign of trust in God the Father.
**Matthew 6:25-26, 30-32**
Verse 25 - "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
Verse 26 - Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Verse 30 - If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?
Verse 31 - So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
Verse 32 - For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them."
"Give us today our daily bread" does not mean that God will give only if we pray; rather, it is a declaration of trust: "I am one who lives by what God provides." Therefore, when we pray "Give us today our daily bread—our needs," it is not a plea out of anxiety, but a prayer expressing trust and confidence in God's provision.
3.3.2) There is a clue in the fact that when Jesus taught the Lord's Prayer, He clearly said to ask our Father in heaven. Connecting this to "Give us today our daily bread" will make it easier to understand.
Our Father delights in His children coming to Him for conversation (prayer) in their daily lives.
I would like to emphasize this once again. The prayer "Give us today our daily bread" is not like ordering coffee from a server at a coffee shop. It is not demanding and receiving the coffee we want to drink, nor is it teaching us to pray "Give us today our daily bread" to God with an ordering intent and receive it. Jesus clearly did not teach us to pray "Give us today our daily bread" with such an intent.
The plea "Give us today our daily bread" reveals that our Father in heaven intends to have closer fellowship every day with His children living on this earth. In real life, we eat meals every day. Likewise, the intent is for God's children to go to God the Father at every moment and ask for (fellowship over) their daily bread. Knowing this, our Lord taught His disciples to pray "Give us today our daily bread" every day.
How much God delights in being reconciled with His creation is revealed in Colossians 1:20-22:
"And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation."
4. Finally, we must know what the daily bread is that God's children should seek.
The Westminster Larger Catechism, Question 193, teaches: "This petition is for God's holy will to provide suitable supply for us and all people in this world, to obtain it justly and use it holily, and not to envy or be discontented with others' riches."
God's beloved children must trust their daily lives to God, not bear tomorrow's anxieties in advance, and pray for all that is needed that day—clothing, shelter, health, work, and family. However, all of it must be sought in a way that pleases God, and what is received through prayer must be used in a holy manner. The daily bread God provides must become the growth of our faith. Therefore, we must not pray out of envy or jealousy toward others becoming rich, desiring to become rich ourselves. Such prayers will not mature our faith and will only distance us from God. But one thing is clear: God, as our Father, desires for His children to live joyfully and well. Therefore, He delights in giving good things to children who believe and ask. Even when we do not know the outcome of our prayers, God knows and delights in leading our prayers to good paths. No, He delights in giving us more abundantly than we can imagine. The only thing we must do is pray to our Father God, who delights in us, at every moment for our daily bread (our needs).
Therefore, in our daily lives, we must pray to meet God our Father. It is good to set a prayer time first. Morning time would be best. For those leaving for work in the morning, slowly meditate on and memorize the Lord's Prayer while praying. Pray the contents of the prayer explained in the sermon, applying them to yourself. Secure time for prayer during lunch or evening. It is also a very good time before going to bed at night. Lying down and briefly reflecting on the day with thanksgiving and repentance will be a very beneficial prayer.
I hope that the believers of our church become praying saints.
Let us pray. (End)