The Lord's Prayer
Q38. What does this mean?
God gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to people who do wrong. But we pray that God would help us see this and be thankful for it. What is daily bread? Daily bread means everything we need for our bodies and our lives, like food, drink, clothes, shoes, a home, land, animals, money, good parents or family, good leaders, good government, good weather, peace, health, friends, and good neighbors.
Scripture Proofs — King James Version
Psalm 145:15–16
“The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.”
1 Timothy 6:6–8
Acts 14:17
James 1:17
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
Parent Guide
Discuss this question together
Discussion Questions
- 1
What are some of the things included in "daily bread" besides food?
- 2
Why does God give daily bread even to people who do not pray for it?
- 3
What is something you usually take for granted that the catechism lists as daily bread?
Illustration
Daily bread includes a lot more than a loaf from the store. Your shoes, your bed, your friends, even good weather. If you tried to write down every single thing God provides for your life in one day, your list would fill pages.
Application
Keep a small "daily bread list" this week. Each night before bed, write down one good thing God gave you that day that you did not ask for. At the end of the week, read the whole list out loud and thank him.
Read Luther’s expanded teaching
From the Large Catechism (1529)