Matthew 6:11

Matthew 6:11. Give us this day our daily bread (fourth petition). First of the second division relative to our wants. These are subordinate, but not opposed, to the subjects of the previous petitions. ‘Bread,' food in general; the form in the Greek hints that it is ‘ours,' i.e., created for our use; ‘this day,' shows that we are to pray daily and to ask neither for riches nor poverty, but, with contentment and thankfulness for the day's portion only. The word translated ‘daily' has occasioned a great deal of discussion, as it occurs only in the Lord's Prayer (here and Luke 11:3), and was not current in colloquial Greek (Origen). Explanations (1) ‘required for our (physical) wants,' ‘needful;' (2) ‘coming,' i.e., tomorrow's bread; but this is contrary to the whole context (Matthew 6:34), and gives no good sense, since we do not need tomorrow's bread ‘this day;' (3) Romanists refer ‘bread' to spiritual nourishment (the sacraments); but while this is cither included or suggested, the primary sense must be that of actual bodily food. For a full discussion, see Lange, Matthew, pp. 121, 126, and Lightfoot, Revision of the Eng. New Testament (Appendix). The propriety of daily family prayer is suggested by this petition for our ‘daily bread.'