The Fourth Petition

The subject raised here might seem trivial at first glance. It concerns the bread basket, the basic necessities of our bodies and our earthly lives. The words of the prayer are brief, but their reach is vast. When you mention and pray for "daily bread," you are praying for everything required to obtain and enjoy that bread, and you are also appealing against everything that might prevent you from having it. You must therefore stretch your thinking well beyond the obvious, looking past the oven and the flour barrel to the broad fields and the whole country that produce and supply our daily bread and every kind of food we eat. For if God did not cause it to grow, and bless and preserve it in the field, we would never pull a single loaf from the oven or place one on the table.

In short, this petition covers everything that belongs to our life in this world, since daily bread is what sustains that life. Our lives require more than just food, clothing, and other basic necessities; they also require harmony and peace in our daily work, in our dealings with others, and in every kind of relationship we have with the people around us. In other words, we need a sound ordering of both family life and civil society. Where these two foundations are not properly maintained, the necessities of life begin to disappear and life itself becomes unsustainable. It is therefore absolutely essential that we pray for our civil authorities and government, because it is primarily through them that God provides our daily bread and every comfort we enjoy. We may receive good things from God in abundance, yet we cannot hold onto any of them or enjoy them safely and peacefully unless He gives us a stable, well-ordered government. Where conflict, strife, and war take hold, daily bread either disappears entirely or is steadily diminished.

For this reason, it would be fitting to place the image of a loaf of bread on the coat of arms of every godly prince, rather than a lion or a wreath of rue, and to stamp it on the national currency as well. This would serve as a constant reminder to rulers and their subjects alike that we owe our protection and peace to the work of those in authority, and that without them we could not enjoy the steady blessing of daily bread. This is why rulers deserve all honor, and why we should fulfill every duty we owe them and do whatever we can in their support, since it is through them that we live in peace and security with everything we have. Without them, we could not hold onto so much as a penny. Beyond that, we should pray for them so that God might, through their leadership, continue to pour out further blessings and gifts on our behalf.

Let me briefly sketch how this petition touches every area of human life on earth. One could easily expand it into a lengthy prayer, spelling out in detail all the various needs it covers. For instance, we might pray that God would give us food and drink, clothing, a home, and a healthy body; that He would cause grain and crops to grow and thrive; that He would help us manage our households well, and give us faithful spouses, good children, and reliable servants; that He would cause our work, our trade, or whatever we put our hands to, to prosper and succeed; that He would give us trustworthy neighbors and genuine friends, and so on. We might also ask God to grant emperors, kings, and all governing authorities, especially our own princes, counselors, magistrates, and officials, the wisdom, strength, and ability to govern us well and to prevail over their enemies; and to give their subjects and the broader population a spirit of obedience, peace, and unity. We should also pray that He would protect us from everything that threatens our bodies or our livelihoods: storms, hail, fire, and flood; poison, disease, and plague; war and bloodshed, famine, dangerous animals, wicked people, and every other harm. It is important to make clear to people in general that all these things, and others like them, must come from God, and that they are therefore proper subjects of prayer.

This petition is aimed especially at our greatest enemy: the devil. His one consuming goal is to strip away or destroy everything we have received from God. He isn't content merely to corrupt spiritual order and drag souls under his control; he also works to undermine every form of legitimate government and every peaceful, honorable arrangement among people on earth. This is why the world sees endless conflict, murder, rebellion, and war. It's why storms and hail devastate crops and livestock, why the air itself is poisoned, and why disaster follows disaster. Put simply, it torments him that anyone should receive even a piece of bread from God and enjoy it in peace. If he had his way, and if God did not hold him back through our prayers, we would not have a single stalk standing in the field, a single coin in the house, or even an hour of life left to us. This is especially true for those who hold to God's Word and genuinely try to live as Christians.

Notice what God is doing here: He wants to show us that He cares deeply about every need we face and that He faithfully provides for our daily lives. He gives with extraordinary generosity, even to the godless and the wicked, yet it is His desire that we ask for these blessings in prayer, so that we learn to recognize them as gifts from His hand and, in receiving them, experience His fatherly goodness toward us. When He withdraws that hand, nothing can thrive or last, as we see and experience plainly every day. Consider what a plague corrupt money has become in the world, a problem made worse by those who, in the ordinary course of trade, commerce, and labor, grind down the poor through exploitation and excessive demands, effectively robbing them of their daily bread. We have little legal recourse against this. But as for those who do it, let them take care not to forfeit the prayers we offer together, and let them think carefully before they turn this part of the Lord's Prayer into their enemy.