DRAWN NOT DRAGGED

After the Long weekend we contine with parts 8 and — Part 8: “Give us this day our daily bread”

When we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” this sounds simple. Almost too simple. Bread. Daily needs. Ordinary life. But there is a tidbit hidden here. The word translated “daily” is unusual— so unusual it is found nowhere else. Many have wrestled with this word. And many came to understand this: not just daily bread— but more like: the bread beyond bread. The bread that truly gives Life. Christ Himself says: “I am the Bread of Life.” So when we pray this line, we are not only asking for food for the body— we are asking for Him! Yes, God provides what we need.

But Christ has already told us: Do not be anxious about what you will eat or drink. Seek first the Kingdom. So this prayer draws us deeper. We are asking: feed me with Your Life, sustain me with Your Presence, give me what/Who that truly nourishes. This is the Bread of the Kingdom. The Bread of the age to come. The Bread that does not pass away. And yet- remains very practical. We still pray: “Give us this day…” Not tomorrow. Not for a lifetime supply. Just today. This call us into that which we resist: Trust. To receive what is given. To let go of control. To live one day at a time in God’s care.

And notice again: we say “give us.” Never “give me.” Even here—at the level of bread and Bread—we are being drawn out of ourselves. As St. John Chrysostom teaches, we cannot ask for bread without also becoming bread for others. To receive from God is to be given for the life of the world. So this prayer holds two movements together: receiving and giving. We are fed… so that we may feed. And in the deepest sense, this is fulfilled in Christ: broken, given, for the Life of the world.

So, when we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” we are saying: give us Yourself. Sustain us in You. And make us able to share what we receive.

Question What am I truly relying on for Life—what passes away…or Who endures?

Prayer Our Father,give us this day our daily bread andfeed us with Your Life.Sustain us in Your Presence.And make us even me a blessing to others.Draw us to trust You, one day at a time.Amen.

Fr. Ray Dobson
©2026