Lenten Journey: Daily Bread

Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come 
Thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread 
and forgive us our trespasses 
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil. 

This part of the prayer is hard for me, to be honest. All I’m asking for is daily bread? Like… just enough for today? What about tomorrow!?!? Come to find out, thinking or worrying about tomorrow and what I might need when I get there can be a real distraction. Jesus taught the people who first followed him:

“... do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34).

What I’ve found is that asking for my “daily” bread can help me to focus on and be present to the day I am living in and force me to trust Him for tomorrow. I am invited to pay attention to the people I see that day and the situations I find myself in rather than look past them because of my worries and uncertainties.

As we pray today, let’s be reminded that God took care of our needs up to this point and that He will do the same tomorrow. Let that knowledge set you free to take care of the day, the people and the situations right in front of you on this, sacred, blessed day.

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FIRST TIME – Just read it or recite it naturally and at whatever pace you naturally move at. Then give yourself a moment and take a few breaths before doing it again.

SECOND TIME – More slowly this time, read or recite the prayer and pay attention to the images, thoughts and feelings that might pop up as you do. Is there a line in the prayer that catches you? Don’t think about why you’re seeing, thinking or feeling these things… just pay attention.

Then, after that second pass through. Take a longer pause and focus on that image or thought (or name or face) or the line from the prayer that jumped out at you. Ask the Spirit of God to speak to you about what that means for you.

Then, take another long breath and ready yourself for your third pass.

THIRD TIME – Keeping the thought or image in mind that jumped out at you, read or recite the prayer one last time, even more slowly and then give yourself the gift of silence for a few breaths.

Before you leave this time, ask the Spirit of God to continue speaking to you about whatever image or thought may have jumped out at you. Perhaps ask “Why is that in my mind?” or “Is there a course of action I am supposed to take?”

You may want to use a journal to capture any stay thoughts or record your experience. Sometimes, coming back to what we’ve written later means seeing what it is we were hearing, seeing, feeling more clearly.