The God of Providing
“Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11 NASB
Give us – The God who gives. That’s how we usually think of the God of the New Testament. If He isn’t providing for our salvation, then He is busy taking care of our needs. He is the Christmas God, secretly arranging presents for His lovely children. Oh, and just in case we think we can sit back and wait for the Christian sleigh to arrive, we are reminded (occasionally) that we have to be good little boys and girls in order to get oranges instead of lumps of coal.
Yes, I know this is a caricature. Yes, I know virtually all of us believe something quite different about YHVH, the Father. But in practice, most of the time we find ourselves at least wishing for the Christmas God even if we have long since left the pagan history of Christmas far behind. We still believe that God’s real business is to take care of us. We might express this in lofty theological terms but essentially we remain egocentric in our approach to God. How do I arrive at this conclusion? Simple. Listen to prayers.
“Give us” is a frequent opening to our prayers. Yeshua incorporated the phrase in his model prayer (Greek dos from the verb didomi – to give), so it must be an important element in conversation with God. But notice how brief this request for sustenance is. Eight words in Greek, most of which are concerned with repetitive necessary provision, nothing more. The entire model prayer spends most of its energy on the praiseworthiness of the Father and the necessity and function of repentance. Brad Young notices the behavioral penchant of typical prayer. “ . . . much of the current teaching in the Christian church about prayer centers on how to receive a positive answer for requests. Certainly Jesus taught His disciples to pray for their daily bread, and by way of extension, all of the physical needs. Prayer’s most basic meaning is communion with God. But prayer in the teachings of Jesus, as well as in ancient Judaism, involved so much more than making requests or spending time alone with God.”[1] Young summarizes the Jewish view of prayer in these words: prayer “focused on life transformation. The person who prayed was changed and transformed by experiencing the divine presence.”[2]
What would happen to you if you stopped asking? What would happen if you sought the divine presence, the experience of just being in the place where God is? What would happen if your prayers were focused on getting closer rather than getting more? How do you think God would feel if all you really wanted was to be with Him?
This is not as easy as it reads. Distractions, self-interest, anxiety, angst have to go. Try imagining you are just sitting near the most loving parent you could ever have. Try feeling what that is like. Try seeking the delight of such a parent just to know His child loves to be with Him. Put your requests on the shelf and let the emotion guide you.
Topical Index: prayer, give, didomi, Matthew 6:11
[1] Brad Young, Meet the Rabbis, p. 13.
[2] Ibid.
Mostly my prayers feel awkward when I am just asking for things. I find myself simply conversing with Him and expressing a lot of gratitude. It just doesn’t feel right anymore to just be going thru a laundry list of needs/wants. Not that I don’t ask for help at times!
When I was small my wise mama went to great pains to teach us to “be content with such things as ye have”. In our house, that largely consisted of things that we had not, so she had to get creative because we were taught early that covetousness was a sin, so she made it against the rules to ever ask for what we saw anyone else have. She ‘owned’ all the things in our world when we were small. There was an exception for our teddy bears and dollies. They were classified as children and as such enjoyed all the privileges her own children had. We could take our babies to church, the grocery store and dinner with the relatives. The rest of it had conditions. We rarely ever asked for things when we were small, for she was careful to try to put in front of us enough to keep us busy. A few crayons here and a book there. One of the main conditions for getting more, or even keeping what we currently had, was to show proper gratitude. That consisted of not abusing the privilege of what we were given, not wanting it before we had finished our chores, not being selfish with it, the list went on and on. The rules were severe. On the other hand, we were taught that whatever already WAS around us was fair game. Time. Earth, trees, water, plants. Opportunity. She had to be the world’s best at serving opportunities to her children on a silver platter. For example, we had no air conditioning in those days, and were always hot in summer. She took spare clothes everywhere for water opportunities. She would whip over to the side of the road in a heartbeat at any creek or body of water she could find, and many times halfway embarrass us by asking to swim in the farm pond. We would then stay until we all were cool. We knew we had better not abuse the privilege du jour, of which the worst was to appear ungrateful, so we would whoop it up and vie with each other to invent ever more and better ways to entertain ourselves with what was in front of our faces.
I have been meditating on this subject of wanting. I have realized that most people do not know what they want, do not know how to want what is available to them, and do not know how to ‘make do’ with such as they have. Perhaps we are not a wanting culture as much as one that does not know what we want. Desire is a gift of heaven, as Solomon found to his sorrow after he lost all his by not being able to recognize it and be grateful for it. I think we are told to ask for one thing only – daily bread – for that is all we need. We should learn to want only what we truly need, and (mama was right!) we learn that best by two things: asking for it and being grateful for it. Asking opens the hand to receive. How many innocent children get scolded for not being grateful for things they didn’t ask for and don’t really need? It is never truly the child’s fault ( I think Christmas is a prime example of poor training, ya’ll). Properly asking first requires us to be in touch with what we think we need, which trains us to study what that may truly be. Good exercise.
Desire is trained best by reality. Solomon chose the reality he wanted to learn by, and he did learn. We all do, in the end. If we want to have the best in life, however, perhaps we should go back and read Koholeth BEFORE we get old.
I remember my brother-in-law for we are Travelers who have found a cup of coffee showing others where we got it traveling together looking for the next cup. Could it be that our daily bread was ascertain portion of scripture ( bread )) finding out how much the Creator loves me and provides for me and protects me and being a child of Abraham All Nations would be blessed through me. Could it be knowing that I am blessed through my Father in heaven that the works I do would glorify him lead the way?
I love that, brother Brett!
Some of those many opportunities mama would drag us to were behind the scenes at the local circuses that came through. We ended up working with wild animals through one of the private zoos near us, and many a night I remember sitting on a cold bleacher in the dark discussing elephants or tigers and how to raise and homeschool Traveler’s children, for practically all the older circuses, I learned, are Traveler or Gypsy family owned, many of them Romanian, in fact. Mama loved circus people. They have generous, sharing natures, and fierce loyalties, and they truly loved their animals. Many of her lifelong friends ended up being circus people. I want to ask which Traveler clan are you from, but perhaps that should not be general information. Glad to meet you, though, brother. I truly enjoy your deep heartfelt insights that really help me. Thank you for all you share.
Dearest sister, please tell me you’re a Texan with the use of “Y’all”- I was present every moment of that comment Laurita. Thank you for intimate insight.
“Try imagining you are just sitting near the most loving parent you could ever have. Try seeking the delight of such a parent just to know His child loves to be with Him.”
Without sounding pathetic and victimized- I don’t know HOW to do this to/with the Father. Everything crosses boundaries and blurs lines. How does one personalize The Creator who cannot BE understood or grasped so why even try? (Chabad.org had a very interesting “daily thingy” on this today) now I see why these things get wordy………….
The more I “learn” the more stupid, confused, angry, broken, demoralized, lost, very alone and TIRED. I can’t anymore.
We once were the broken stupid confused angry demoralized or lost now we’re found our mind is being renewed transformed not conformed to this world but with the renewing of our mind we pull down strongholds that our imagination build up against the word of God. Chabad.org tends to be one of the Jewish sects that lean on Kabbalah which is taking a little bit of the natural in mixing it with things that only God can do they think we can people are limited for finite where God is in finite. You are right we are not victimized or pathetic but it is God in us the hope of glory. Scripture tells us of a future and a plan and a hope that God has for us. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of Things Not Seen. Think of that hope in us substance and evidence of a future. And The Book of Romans tells us that Abraham hoped against hope believing what God has said and it was accounted some say imputed as righteousness think of that to be righteous is to believe not only in the faith in God but the faith of God that spoke things into being through his own words. We use faith in what God has already spoken and what he has and will do for those who love him and are called according to his purposes working all things together for good.
Who told you the Father cannot be understood or grasped? If you mean, YOU cannot make that happen since He is eternal, etc., then OK, but what prevents HIM from revealing all you need to know to you in ways that you can understand. No one is arrogant enough to insist the he knows ALL there is to know about God, but since God has chosen to reveal Himself to men, we can at least know THAT much.
Dear Lesli, Yes, I am southern born and bred, being born in the NC mountains, raised in SC and lived in GA most of my life and want to move to TN. I have only made it out to y’all’s grand state a few times, but, never say never!
I read what you wrote and it resonated with me and I wanted to observe that there is starting to be a recognition in the world today that we have a universal problem with fathers. Go the world over, pick any audience, and ask them to raise their hands if they cannot remember their father saying to them while they were growing up “I love you”. 95% of the hands will go up. Those are the people who are also going to find it hard to believe that any father DOES love them. The offenses done to the little children set their worldview, and the first and biggest seems to be the father thing.
I found in my life, as so many other people have told me likewise about theirs, that I was unconsciously transferring the conception of father that I had learned from the experience I had with mine over onto my conception of God. I fell over in shock the first time I made that connection! Since then, I have seen it from more than a few sources that people are noticing a trend; namely, that the folks in church that have unresolved issues with their father will naturally gravitate toward Yeshua or Jesus – they feel they can relate to Him – but the father thing is impossible. Either they can’t get past the anger, the fear or the guilt, so they stick with the relatively non-threatening Big Brother. (I have seen people on this blog remark on the praying only to Jesus thing. That says to me that we could be having a super huge daddy problem, which is a therapy issue more than it is a theological one. Just my 2 cents) However, if you have a woman who has a general problem with men because of bad experiences or marriages, she is going to tend to have hangups about Jesus, too. Interesting. Likewise, to extrapolate if further, if you want, I have noticed that practically the entire community of New Agers must be a super broken crowd, for they have big problems with fathers AND men in general. That crowd tends to lean toward the Holy Spirit, which they view as relatively non-threatening. Practically none of them want anything to do with anything male, and so many of them will only deal with the concept of god as female. Early childhood. These preferences don’t seem to say a lot about God, but they seem to reveal a lot about us.
We have to start flatfooted from where we are, and if we are starting from one of these broken places, not to despair. You just have to do the right things about it. I went through a ministry teaching on the Father’s love and ministry based on the same a few times, and it helped tremendously my extreme anger and abandonment issues. The Father thing cleared up on its own after that. If you wanted to pursue any of this further, I am no expert, but I would be happy to pass on what I felt helped me. That would be anybody. My email is my name all lower case: lauritahayes and that would be @gmail.com.
Blessings.
Laurita,
You’re no doubt right on!
My observations concur. The role of father
has sadly greatly diminished. (And men in general.)
I pray our heavenly Father is on the case . . . and
will use our faith and obedience to further His purposes.
Rich, we now need Father more than ever, for most of us are walking around deeply wounded. How to get past that wound? I think this is a significant issue that perhaps this community can and should address. Could we continue this discussion? Anybody else interested? I think this has become a real problem. I know it was one of my very biggest.
God is a giver. And He wants us to be one, too.
Those of us who have received His gift of transformation
have no doubt amazingly discovered that our “neediness” was simply
our “having-ness” which needed to be given away.
It’s how His nature works. I stand amazed to see it working in me!
Amazing grace.
Prayer is the only thing that transforms me because it is my response to Him as I study.
If study doesn’t produce a discussion with the Father than my study is useless and I remain as I am.
The best explanation on Jewish prayer that I have ever read is Jonathon Sacks forward in the Koren Sacks Siddur.
It’s 30+ pages of the richest most condensed teaching on prayer ever and needs to be read very slowly several times.
I would pay the price for the siddur X 3 Just to have the forward. The Sephardi edition is most inclined toward Messiah.
Please treat yourself to one even if you already have a siddur. It will help you pray through it with greater understanding.
If I remember correctly siddur means standing think of that standing before God saying his word the siddur is very high in the percentage as far as scripture is concerned I too read the Korean volume as I first came to the Lord it really points to the Lord the one who is always Among Us Before Time he created all things and in him all things are created and he the one who will remain after all things and so on amazing God was telling his people all the time now those who are grafted in to the original olive tree have the original blessing that was intended and become part of Israel shalom
PS I almost forgot this book has been in our family me being the third generation think of it wow we’ve all come to know Messiah as our own except for one Living member and I’ll call my sister’s brother you could pray for him Connie is his name thank you
I meant to say my mother’s brother funny how that came out
While I am thinking of family history both are historical lines go to the Mayflower the aldens I believe thanks
Brother Brett, you are indeed pedigreed. You cannot have a better pedigree in this USA, I don’t think, than the Mayflower. Wow! I think most of mine got chased out, over or dumped.
Heh. Laurita is Native American, as was my great grandmother on my grandfather’s side.
The running joke in my family on Columbus Day, where we learned American was ‘found’ was that or family never knew we were lost. (Spiritual implications not withstanding).
I wish I could remember which “version” of Scripture I was reading (unless I was doing a literal Hebrew translation while learning with a scholar (one-on-one, like you did, Skip – SUCH A BLESSING!!) when I saw where Yeshua’s prayer was sourced….
“Tear for me my daily portion…” proverb 30, verse 8…(b) or (c)
“poverty or wealth give not to me…”
and why?
verse 9: “Lest I should be surfeited So that I disavow You and say, Who is YHVH? Or lest I be destitute and steal, So that I denigrate the Name of my Elohim.” [CLV]
…ever humbled…
It was in Jay P. Greene’s Interlinear that I found “tear my portion of bread”, -or- “tear for me of bread my portion”
Yeshua said we shall not live from bread alone but from every word of YHVH.
Yeshua then explained I am the bread that descendent from above not like the manna… He who eats of me…
Giving us bread is for me a task in Christ or rather Yeshua the gathering… Do we find a role to enhance and better the gathering or are we just attending. I think someone commented on an earlier blog aware we just connected in this blog or are we sharing with our live gatherings… This is the bread we need to ask for, when we have this the rest is added and we need to pray for more as the heathens do…
just checking in, Shabbat Shalom!