Matthew 6:9-13 NKJV
9 In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
[a]For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
A Biblical Guide to Praying for Your Daily Bread
Our Lord Jesus gave us a model prayer, and He said, “In this manner, therefore, pray” (Matthew 6:9a). That is, you can not only pray His exact prayer, but in the manner of His prayer. The structure of the Lord’s Prayer teaches us what prayer ought to be.
The Lord’s Prayer is quite simple. Jesus taught us that it is not the length of our prayer, nor the logic or the language, but the faith of our daily prayer and devotion that causes it to be heard in Heaven.
Daily Prayer for Daily Bread
When our Lord prayed, the first thing out of His mouth was praise, followed by surrender to God’s will. “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9b-10).
The next thing He asked was:
“Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11).
This day, our daily bread. This is meant to be a daily prayer.
This petition in the Lord’s Prayer is for bread, but bread is symbolic for any need that you may have. Do you have a need today? God delights to meet your need. It is God’s will to provide for His people, and it gives Him honor to meet your need.
Four Ways to Pray for God’s Will in Your Life
Here are four prayer practices to teach you how to pray for your needs, and to discern God’s will for those needs. In other words, here is how to pray for your daily bread.
Surrender to God’s Will
Notice the priority in this prayer. First is God’s name, God’s kingdom, God’s will, and then our need.
If you do not get that priority straight, you will never have power in prayer. God is not some sort of heavenly bellhop to meet your needs. Prayer is not a way for man to get his will done in Heaven; prayer is the way God gets His will done on Earth.
Jesus Christ summed it up: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). If this is not tested and proven in your heart, why should you expect God to answer your prayer?
You are asking God to give you bread. Bread is for strengthening your body. Strength is for activity. Why should God give you more strength to serve the devil? Answered prayer is not for rebels.
So you must pray, “Thy will be done” before you pray for your daily bread.
For Daily Bread, Simply…Ask
Once you establish the priority, you express your prayerful petition. That is, you ask God. Jesus taught us to ask.
Why do some people not have their needs met? Because they do not ask. It’s that simple. (See James 4:2.)
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:25-26).
God answers prayer.
Think about that for a moment. It should stagger you when it really hits.
God answers prayer. The One who created the Universe, the great eternal God, will hear you. You can talk to Him. He will answer you and show you great and mighty things.
If that is true, are you not an unmitigated fool if you do not learn how to pray? If God does not answer prayer, forget the whole thing. But if God does answer prayer—and He does—then let us pray.
This does not mean you have the key to Fort Knox, that you’re going to get everything you want. As a matter of fact, “give us this day our daily bread” may be translated different ways—it could be also translated as “give us this day bread sufficient for us.”
God is going to meet your need, not your greed.
Act Upon Your Daily Prayer in Faith
Prayer is not a substitute for diligence. If you pray for bread, do you know how you say, “Amen”? You work for it.
Somebody says, “I’m not going to work. God feeds the birds of the air, etc.” Yes He does feed them. But how? Does He throw it in their nest? No. They get out and scratch for it.
How is God going to feed you? “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground” (Genesis 3:19a). Or even more pointedly: “For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).
Do you sit back and say, “I’m going to show my faith by doing nothing”? To the contrary. You will show your faith by doing something, for faith without works is dead.
Do you want a house? Pray for it. Then say “amen” with a hammer and saw.
Do you want a wife? Pray for one, then go put on some cologne and learn some manners.
Are you asking God to give you carte blanche to do whatever you want—to be indolent, selfish, and indulgent, and then say through prayer, “Dear God, counteract all of that”? God does not do that!
The Bible says to pray for daily bread. God says He will give you bread. But He also says that if a man will not work, he will not eat.
Enjoy Today’s Daily Bread
We do not pray for tomorrow’s daily bread. Just today’s. Lord, help us to enjoy what you have given us today, whether it be little or much!
What our flesh really wants is to have enough that we don’t have to depend on God. We want to have some money in the bank so that when tomorrow comes, we don’t have to worry about it. We like to call that “security.” But is that really security?
Who is more secure: the man who has a warehouse full of stale bread, or the man whose father is a rich baker? Our Father can give us our daily bread. This daily prayer and devotion for daily sustenance is God’s plan for His people.
Whether you are in good times or in crisis, only be concerned about today’s daily bread. And be sure to ask for it.
The Bread of Life
Jesus commanded us to pray for our daily bread. But He also said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4).
There is more than one kind of bread.
And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).
For every piece of bread you eat, a kernel of wheat had to fall to the ground and die.
Jesus is Heaven’s bread for Earth’s hunger. The Son of God came, died, was buried, and rose again and became the Bread of Life so that you and I could have our deepest hunger met.
Christians, we have our bread not only in our hands, but in our hearts. His name is Jesus. And we know that He will be sufficient for tomorrow.
List of Scriptures Referenced in This Article
Matthew 4:4, 6:9-13,25-26,33; James 4:2; Genesis 3:19; 2 Thessalonians 3:10; John 6:35
More Bible Verses About Praying for Our Daily Bread
And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content (1 Timothy 6:8).
I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need (Philippians 4:12).
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34).
Adrian Rogers had a unique gift for making deep biblical truth simple and practical. As founder of Love Worth Finding, he was a powerful preacher, trusted Bible teacher, and respected Christian leader. Known for his passion for the Gospel and unwavering commitment to God’s Word, he shared the message of Jesus Christ with conviction, compassion, and integrity. A devoted husband to his childhood sweetheart Joyce, he was also a loving father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. Of all his accomplishments, Dr. Rogers often said his greatest joy was found in his relationship with Jesus, his family, and the church he served.
©2026 Love Worth Finding Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. Transcripts used with permission of the Rogers Family Trust. Many thanks for the use of this important message.
Image Created by CoPilot
0 Comments