Day 4 - Use the Lord’s Prayer to Pray for Your Needs

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Matthew 6:11-12

Should we pray for ourselves and our needs? The answer of the New Testament is, “Yes.” Jesus himself invited us to do so when he made prayer for our needs a part of the Lord’s Prayer. After we pray for God’s kingdom on earth, says the Lord’s Prayer, it is appropriate to ask God for what we need.

What needs did Jesus identify? We might note that Jesus did not include many things that tend to occupy our prayers. He did not instruct his disciples to pray about their financial situation, or family problems, or success at work. Does this mean these are unimportant? No. We can pray for whatever concerns us; the psalms are good examples of prayers for the needs of the moment. It is interesting, however, to notice the things that Jesus thought most important.

First, we are to pray for our daily needs. “Give us this day our daily bread.” This does not ask for extravagant luxuries or financial wealth, but only what we need for the day. Most of us are quite blessed in our standard of living. This phrase in the Lord’s Prayer reminds us to be content if we have our daily bread. Anything else is over and above. When we pray this phrase, we also ask that God meet our daily spiritual needs through the gracious working of his Spirit.

“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” The Lord’s Prayer teaches us to ask for forgiveness for our sins. This is because each day when we pray, we have sins for which we need to be forgiven. We also ask for the grace to forgive others. As an incentive to forgive, the prayer assumes that we have forgiven others, lest God treat our sins the way we have treated the sins of others.

Today use the Lord’s Prayer to pray for your needs. Pray for your daily bread, forgiveness for your sins, and the grace to forgive others from the heart.