Daily

“Give us this day our daily bread”.   Matthew 6:11 

Daily – The Greek word is epiousion.  This is one of the most unusual words in the entire Bible.  It occurs only in the Lord’s Prayer.  In order to understand the meaning of most of the Biblical expressions, scholars often look to other uses either in the Bible or outside the Bible.  But this word appears here in this verse for the first time, is not found in any other Biblical context and has no clear cognates in other ancient languages.  All of this is even more unusual since the meaning of the word certainly must have been clear to Jesus’ disciples and the early Christians. 

We can learn more about this word by looking at its parts.  Epi means “from” or “of”.  Ousia is the Greek word for “being” (to exist).  Literally, this word tells us that God will give us our being – our very existence.

This much is clear.  This petition in the Lord’s Prayer pushes aside any claim that we might have on even the basic necessities of life as our rights.  Even life’s most basic needs are the gifts of God.  It is not that we are to be content with only the most basic elements of life.  Rather, we are to acknowledge that everything, even the bare necessities, come to us as gifts.  When we think of this part of the verse, the strange word for ‘daily’ begins to make some sense.  We are part of the fellowship of the redeemed.  More than anyone, we know that our basic needs must come to us one day at a time.  We are healed for this day.  We are helped for this day.  We are whole for this day.  The basic necessities of our lives cannot be stored up for tomorrow nor appropriated from yesterday.  We can only live daily.  When we say the Lord’s Prayer, the word daily has a special significance.  This word summarizes our lives.  One day at a time.