Series: “Connecting with God” - Part 4
"The Prayer of Dependence"
Pastor Jerry
Philippians 4:6 & 8
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Today’s news reports highlight people struggling with overwhelming stresses. What can we do? That’s what we’re going to look at today. We’re looking verse by verse at the Lord’s Prayer, which is the answer to the seven biggest stresses and problems you face in life.
We started off with
“Our Father who art in heaven….” That’s called the
Prayer of Connection. We talked about what kind of Father is God. Then last week we looked at
“Thy kingdom come...” That’s the
Prayer of Surrender. We looked at the four ways that surrender was the solution to stress. Today we’re going to look at the
Prayer of Dependence, which is the third phrase in the Lord’s Prayer. It’s only six words, Matthew 6:11
“Give us today our daily bread.”
Bread obviously is the universal staple food. It may be one of the oldest foods known to mankind. Obviously, Jesus when he says we’re to pray
“Give us this day our daily bread,” he’s talking about far more than just
bread on the dinner table. In fact, in scripture the Bible tells us that bread represents four things.
- It represents the Necessities of Life.
You need water to live, you need air to live, you need sunshine to live, you need nourishment to live. It’s the necessities for your physical body.
The truth is God says I provide for all of them.
God says I supply it. You gather it. Work is a part of God’s purpose for your life. It builds character and divine dependence. So bread first of all represents the necessities of life. What you need for physical life. But bread also has a spiritual implication.
- Bread represents God’s Word.
The Bible is spiritual food. Bread is a symbol for scripture. Jesus said,
“Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” When Jesus said that, he was actually quoting from Deuteronomy. Manna was the supernatural bread that God dropped from heaven for the people. Jesus said God gave you this bread and he did it to teach you that people need more than bread for their life. Real life comes by feeding on every word of the Lord. Just as much as you need physical food for your body, you need soul food for your spiritual food. You need the word of God.
- The third thing that bread represents is God’s Family and Fellowship.
You don’t just have physical needs and spiritual needs – you have relational needs. You need people in your life. Bread is a metaphor for the church; for the family of God. Jesus says,
“It’s not good for man to be alone.” That’s why God created a family called the church. It is to be a place of fellowship. So bread represents the necessities of life, it represents the word of God, it represents the family of God, the church and fellowship for physical and spiritual and relational needs, and…
- The fourth thing it represents is Salvation.
Our salvation in Christ. Jesus chose bread to represent his sacrifice in communion. And when he gave the bread he said this,
“Jesus took a piece of bread and he gave thanks to God and he broke it and he gave it to them and he said ‘This is my body which is given for you. Do this in memory of me.’” It’s a symbol. I want you to, every time you eat this bread, it is to remind you how much I love you and the sacrifice I made for your life. I’m going to give you a symbol with bread and we’ll call it communion.
Here’s the point. Whatever your need is – physical, emotional, relational, spiritual – whether it is a need in your body or a need in your mind or a need in your soul or a need in your spirit, God says I will take care of that need if you will depend on me.
“Give us this day our daily bread.”
Let’s look at how to depend on God to meet all of your needs. The Bible says
“Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” The Bible says,
“According to your faith it will be done unto you.” The Bible says
“Without faith it’s impossible to please God.”
So the way you connect to God, and that’s what this series is all about, is through faith. And how do I connect to God so that my physical, emotional, spiritual, relational, financial and every other need will be met in my life? What does it mean to depend on God? It means three things.
- Depending on God means seeing God as my source.
The source of what? Literally the source of everything. Everything you see in the world and everything you can’t see God made. He is the source of everything. It’s a gift of God’s grace. The Bible says this in Philippians 4:19
“God will supply all that you ever need from his glorious resources in Christ Jesus.” There’s plenty in the world for everybody. The reason why some don’t have enough is because it’s not shared. God wants to meet all your needs. He’s waiting on you.
“You do not have because you do not ask God.” Who are you looking to, to meet your needs? Only God can meet all your needs. And you need to look to him as the source of your supply.
- The second thing it means to depend on God is it means trusting him for today.
Not for next week, next year, next month. Just one day at a time. God says, “
I’m going to make this real simple. I want you to take life in bite size pieces. Twenty-four hour increments. I want you to trust me just for today.” I don’t want you worrying at all. I want you to take it one day at a time. How do you do that? How do you trust God just for today? You pray the prayer of Dependence:
“Give us today our daily bread.” There’s a third key to depending on God.
- Depending on God means I share whatever he supplies.
Trusting God, depending on God, means sharing whatever he supplies. When God gives you something he always wants you to share it with everybody else. Why does God want you to share it? He wants you to learn to be like him. God is generous. Proverbs 11 says
“It is possible to give freely and become more wealthy, but those who are stingy will lose everything.” God so loved the world that he gave. You can give without loving. But you cannot love without giving. God says I want you to be loving and to learn how to share.
Love is all about giving. I think God is saying to the Boones Mill Church,
“There’s hundreds of people in the area who are spiritually hungry. I want your church to feed them.” But we look at ourselves, look at our size, look at our age, and we think, God we can’t do that. We’re just one small church.
“Yea, but with Me, I can do it. We can do it together!” I want the church to be that way. I want this church to be known for its compassion, for its generosity, for its trust in God.
Friends, I don’t know where you are today in your journey of faith? You may feel distant from God. You may be going through a tough time right now. Regardless of what you’re going through, I want to invite you to become a part of this church that says we’re going to trust God together for a new life. We are going to trust God in good times, and in tough times. We’re going to look to God as our source. We’re going to Trust God for today.
How do you do that? You first accept Jesus Christ into your life. No matter how much you eat, in a few hours you get hungry again. No matter how much you drink, in a few hours you get thirsty again. Spiritually there’s a hunger in your heart that only God can fill. You need him. And when you let him fill that hunger and that thirst, you’ll never thirst again. You’ll never hunger again.
The second thing you do is open your heart to Christ and say now that I have Christ as my Lord, my Savior, I’m going to take the three steps to depend on God: First, I’m going to see God as my source? Second I’m going to trust God on a daily basis – for daily bread. And third I’m going to share whatever Jesus gives me – even if it’s a little – I’m going to share it. And I’m going to walk hand-in-hand with God every day.
