He Give Food

He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
    the sea, and everything in them—
    he remains faithful forever.
He upholds the cause of the oppressed
    and gives food to the hungry. - Psalm 146:6-7

When Jesus teaches us that we should pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:10), he’s inviting us to trust God for the very nature of God as a provider. Needless to say, this can be so, so hard. Financial crisis, health issues, unemployment and underemployment, and a host of practical issues (from car repairs to responsible child care) create havoc in our hearts. How can we trust God?

It seems that Jesus may be echoing a particular prayer here from the Psalms. Look over those verses above and see if you can see Jesus tying together God as “Maker of heaven and earth” with “Our Father in heaven”, and then tying together the ‘daily bread’ piece to “gives food to the hungry.’

No doubt, Jesus had prayed that Psalm many times himself. Can you imagine him, the Savior of the world, praying that psalm? And then can you see him editing it and updating it so that we could pray a very simple form of it? Why might he do that?

Are there ways that the Spirit might be inviting you to trust God more these days? Is there a way to tie together your needs (and your prayers for them) to God’s power as “Maker of heaven and earth” and what might that look like for you today?