God's Answers to the Lord's Prayer
A widow, a prophet, 12 disciples, and us
A widow and twelve men, separated by centuries and many country miles, faced the same challenge. When they had nothing to spare, God commanded them to feed the hungry at their door.
Regardless, they obeyed, the hungry ate, and there were leftovers.
We learn from this one of the ways God answers the prayer Jesus taught us, "Give us this day our daily bread." He provides so we can give. God answers through us.
The last meal that lasted
The widow lived in Zarepath, a town between the cities of Tyre and Sidon in what is modern Lebanon. The 3-year drought that Elijah had invoked in Israel apparently had stretched this far north because the woman and her son had the makings for one meal. When Elijah finds her at the town gate and asks for drink and food, she answers, "I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die" (1 Kings 17:12).
God sent a man who has run out of food and water (1 Kings 17:7) to a woman who is down to her last meal. The destitute meets the desperate. This was the perfect occasion for God to prove His name, Jehovah Jireh—The Lord will provide.
And He does. God replenishes her oil and flour and gives the trio daily meals for as long as the drought endures. He bestows the provisions, but commands the widow and the prophet to provide for each other.
The lunch that fed thousands
The twelve men were disciples of Jesus. We find them at the end of a day during an exhausting period of ministry in the Galilee district of northern Israel. Before this event, which all four Gospels relate, Jesus had sent them in pairs to preach and heal in surrounding villages, and they had just returned, looking forward to time alone with Jesus. Jesus organized a respite, but the ever-present crowd spied them and intruded. So much for rest and solitude.
As daylight faded, The Twelve implored Jesus to send the crowd away because, "They have nothing to eat."
Jesus didn't hesitate. "You give them something to eat."
The disciples hadn't packed lunches, but even if they had, what were servings for twelve among more than five thousand growling stomachs? All the disciples could scrounge were five loaves of barley bread and two small fish—the lunch of a young boy in the crowd.
"What is this among so many?" they asked.
Jesus met their protest with God's promise: Jehovah Jireh, the Lord will provide. He took the portions, blessed them, broke them, and returned them for distribution. Jesus gave the disciples, who had nothing of their own, more than enough. They collected twelve baskets of leftovers.
As with the widow at Zarepath, God bestowed the provisions and commanded the disciples to provide for those around them.
God provides what He commands
This leads us to pray as Jesus taught, "Give us this day our daily bread," all the while believing He is Jehovah Jireh—the Lord who provides. The Lord who gave the prayer also makes us its answer.
Of course, this is not limited to meals; Jesus included other needs.
"I was hungry and you gave Me food;
I was thirsty and you gave Me drink;
I was a stranger and you took Me in;
I was naked and you clothed Me;
I was sick and you visited Me;
I was in prison and you came to Me.
Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers,
you did it to Me."
—Matthew 25:35-36
God answers by changing us
Let's get practical. How does this work in everyday life?
First, for God to answer through us, He has to change us because we are selfish by nature. Who can deny behaving the way Jesus describes in the Sermon on the Mount? We love those who love us; we give expecting repayment; we give to charity for the accolades or tax breaks; we hoard for fear we don't have enough and there won’t be more. In other words, we reciprocate or retaliate.
Jesus said we have to change to see God's kingdom (Matthew 18:3). God has to make the ungodly, godly.
Only then will we give as God does: Freely. Jesus said, "Freely you have received, freely give" (Matthew 10:8). Hold no grudges, have no strings, expect no repayment. Drop the "because" from what you do. We love because we are obliged. We give because of what we'll get. We praise because we will be praised.
God removes the because.
God loves us. Love as God loves you.
God gives. Give as God has given to you.
God forgives. Forgive as God forgives you.
God does all this in Christ, freely. In Christ, we do the same.
God provides and cancels worry
Secondly, not only does God change us, He also frees us from worry, releasing us to be generous.
Jesus said, "Your heavenly Father knows you need food and drink and clothes. Why are you anxious? All these things will be added to you when you seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness" (Matthew 6:25-34).
What relief! To say this in our vernacular, God has our back. When we know Him as Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides, we give freely because we know the Lord replenishes. God frees us from worry.
There are no shortages in God's storehouse. The Psalmist used this picture to describe God's vast resources. "He owns the cattle on a thousand hills."
Paul also speaks of God's generosity—He gave the unspeakable gift of His Son, and He loves the cheerful giver. We respond joyfully,
All I have needed Your hand has provided. Great is your faithfulness Lord, unto me.
This is top-down economics at its purest. God, who is over all, opens His treasures and those who seek His kingdom have ample to give to the needy.
A widow, a prophet, and twelve disciples all prayed and were answers to the Lord's prayer.
As we go into this new year, may God make us godly. May He find us faithful not only to pray as He taught, but also to obey when "Give us our daily bread" becomes His command.