Lord, always give us this bread!

Nothing satisfies the soul, like a word from God. We must come to the place where we live by His word, like the sustenance of the food we eat. In the dry wilderness, Satan confronted our Lord, in the hunger of His fast, with a temptation to prove His sonship and transform a stone into bread. Jesus replied, “Bread alone will not satisfy, but true life is found in every word, which constantly goes forth from God’s mouth” (Matt. 4:4 TPT). Every day let our hearts cry be, “Lord, always give us this bread!”

So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’”

Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”

Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.

—John 6:30-35 NASB

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

Centuries earlier in a desert West of Mount Sinai, Jesus’s worldly ancestors also hungered. Their leader, Moses, heard God say He would rain down bread from heaven, but they were to trust Him and only take enough for the day. Fearing the bread would not come again, they stored as much as they could and it rotted (Exod. 16). I wonder how often we, like them, attempt to live off bread from yesterday. God’s word for us yesterday was good, but it’s today and He is still speaking.

When God shifted gears at the end of the week and told Moses to get the people to gather enough manna on Friday so they could rest on the sabath, the people were again put in a position to trust Him in the moment. They had to let go of the previous instruction, and obey the new. If we don’t continue to seek God, we can lose our course, trying to follow directions that were meant for only a step in our walk with Jesus.

In 2014, God told me to preach His word and it was life-changing. When He delivers a message to you, it will give you purpose and send you off in pursuit. I got to preach that year, and then sought to hear Him again on the same calendar day the next year. This time He said, “Seek my face.” And I thought I knew to do that already (silly me).

But He would make me remember that He is the goal. I tried to obey God, in seeking His face instead of preaching, but I struggled. I needed to take my picture of the promise He’d given me and place it on the altar. Will we listen for Him to put us back on course? Or are we still nibbling on the last bread He gave us? If I hadn’t let go, I may not have obeyed for my family’s current step of faith and been able to hear, “Go into the land I will show you.”

Lord, Always Give Us This Bread!

That is my prayer, to receive Jesus, the Word of God—every day. To be in communion with Him always. We must learn to be like Jesus who knew His life source was every word that comes from His Father’s mouth.