What are your needs today? Do you need wisdom? Do you need patience? Do you need provision? Have you asked God to meet those needs?

It’s natural for us to peak into the future and opt to worry about how everything will work out. However, this isn’t the option Jesus recommends. Jesus said in Matthew 6 “this is how you should pray … give us this day our daily bread.”

A focus on today with a dependence on God for today.

People around the world have been impacted by our current events. No one alive has ever witnessed anything comparable to this. And not a single one of us can predict what tomorrow may bring.

I think I finally understand James 3: 13-14 when we read “you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.’ How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow?”

I have typically always felt like I knew what my life would be like tomorrow. Like I had some sense of control. And now I feel completely out of control. I’m humbled to understand all this time I wasn’t in control at all. Neither were you.

And it is here in this uncertainty, we finally learn to focus on today with a dependence on God for today. Give us THIS day our daily bread.

Bread is a symbol of provision. While Jesus walked this earth, bread was a staple in their diet. Dang, Jesus wasn’t low carb or keto. Ya’ll do you know how long it’s been since I had a piece of bread?!!! Christmas! But I guess they could have bread back then because they didn’t have cars. It was a trade. Perhaps if we want to walk everywhere, we too can have all the bread. Fair enough, I’ll keep my little Toyota and forgo the bun.

Okay, back to the point. Bread was a symbol of provision. Remember the story of the Israelite’s stuck in the wilderness with no food? What did God provide? He rained down manna from heaven. Bread. Every day, the bread came down from heaven and covered the ground. Every day there was provision for their needs.

What’s interesting is, when they gathered more than they could eat that day and tried to store it for their needs tomorrow, it would rot. You know they were thinking “just in case’ers”. Just in case God doesn’t supply for tomorrow. Just in case we have no provisions next week. Just in case there isn’t enough. Just in case God doesn’t come through on our needs. Just in case’ers, we’ll save back so we don’t have to depend on God every day.

It was no accident they couldn’t save today’s daily bread for tomorrow. God designed the daily need to meet with the daily provision. Why? So they would trust. So they would see for themselves God was faithful.

And what if today we find ourselves in a situation of daily need and it’s not because of a disaster. It’s because our loving creator is continually bringing us back to our truth … the truth that all we have comes from him.

Oh it’s easy to forget when we have been busy making all the money and buying all the things. We’ve been bringing home the bread. I’m a bread-winner up in here! And then that comes to a screeching halt, or is at least threatened … and we’re brought back to our need for the bread-provider. If you’ve been a bread-winner, making the money to buy the things, may you never forget, that “bread” was first provided by God.

We kinda forgot that didn’t we? I did. I got a little lost with a puffed up ego believing they hire me because I’m good. I make the money because I earn it. I have this lifestyle because I work for it. They need me because of what I’ve got.

Girl, sit down! Everything you have came from God’s hand. It was first in his storehouse before it came to your house.

Maybe we’ve been wandering around in our own desert a little more lost than we realized. Maybe we have been desperate for saving, not because we were starving, but because we were gorging on abundance with oblivious spirits and swollen egos.

How will we ever know to pray about our daily provision if we’re guaranteed provision for the next 6 months? How will we ever know God’s daily bread if what we’ve stored up is always available? We stop looking for God when the need isn’t there. We stop seeking his hand when our hands are full.

So, we are humbled to say, Lord please give us this day our daily bread. Provide for today.

What do you need today? Specifically, what are your needs?

James 4:2 says “you do not have because you do not ask God.”

Why are we so proud? Why don’t we ask for what we need? Is it because we’ve been too busy? Is it because we are self-sufficient and like a toddler learning to walk, we don’t want a hand to guide us? Well we sure can save a whole lot of bumps and bruises if we just take his hand!

We’ve been slowed down. Life has suddenly become simpler. This is what’s important. These are my essentials. And these are my people. We’re no longer too busy to ask now are we?

Philippians 4:6 says “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”

Do not worry about anything. Pray about everything.

On your list for today there should be 2 columns. The first column should say “Worry About It”. The second column should say “Pray About It”.

Now, where will you put your finances? Where will you put your house? Where will you put your plans? Where will you put your kids? Where will you put your today?

If we’re doing this right, there will be NOTHING in the worry about it column, and EVERYTHING will be over in the pray about it. Tell God what you need. Be specific.

Some people feel like they never see God’s answer to prayer, while others feel they see God’s undeniable answers. Why is this? Is one favored over the other? Does God play favorites answering my prayers and skimming over yours? Romans 2:11 reassures us “God does not show favoritism.” So what’s going on here?

The result is general prayers versus specific prayers. When you pray general prayers, you see general answers. You generally know God provides. You generally know God’s goodness.

But specific prayers bring very specific answers. Then you specifically know God provides. You specifically know God’s goodness. Does he always answer the way you imagined? Not in my world. Remember sometimes his best answer is no. But with proper time and perspective we can see his specific answer to our specific prayer was merciful and gracious. There was a big picture and we just didn’t see it.

Pray your specific prayers. Ask God. Ask him for what you need today. And watch him show up. Watch him provide today.

If you need guidance, ask him for it. He’s the best guide I know.

If you need patience, ask him for it. He clearly has a whole lot of that with us.

If you need provision, ask him for it. He has a bigger storehouse than anyone else.

If you need peace, ask him for it. He is the Prince of Peace.

If you need something mighty big, ask him for it. He is the Almighty.