I Need a Loaf Today

   At the end of each of my (almost) daily sessions contemplating on a section of Scripture, the words of The Lord's Prayer come up on the computer screen. They are meant for me to end the session, keeping the words of the morning reading before me throughout the day.

   I think of the phrase "Give me this day, my daily bread", or, as I often rephrase it, "give me today what I need to live for You in this day in front of me".

   These words are oh so familiar and maybe too familiar. They are easy to repeat without thinking. I ask for bread for strength, when I know there is food in the fridge and the kitchen cabinets that will give me some of the physical strength that my body needs. I even know that the bread that I truly need is that scriptural bread that comes from the Word of God, but I read it early, just a few verses, and then it is gone from my conscious life for the rest of the hours.

   I see my schedule for today. I plan to golf with three of my friends from church, then come back home in the afternoon and get ready for a dinner out with another couple from our church. What is there to need? It seems like a straight forward day, one that I have lived before, so where is the need for that prayer? Am I so comfortable with my life that my prayer is merely for show and not for any felt need? Will my life be one of no meaning if God does not show up to give me His strength and guidance? Do I even want God to show up and mess up my plans? The day sounds perfect as it is, so .....

   Even if I sit here and pray that prayer with the sincere conviction that this day will not be complete without God, and then promptly forget it, what has that really meant? Who am I fooling? Surely not God, most likely myself.

   I sing, "One day at a time, sweet Jesus" with gusto, and then plan my perfect life. I say that I have stored up plenty of stuff for the days ahead, all will be OK, but will it?

   There are plenty of people in this world who pray, no, who plead, for God to give them what they need for this day, because they don't know how they might make it through one more time, physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually.

   God, don't let my only real prayer be that of gratefulness for the barns with the stuff in them, but give me the "bread" that I really need for today.

   Jesus, the Bread of Life