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You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! (Matthew 7:9-10, NLT)
God wants us to pray for our daily needs. I call it “bread and fish” praying.
We don’t bother God by praying for the details and small situations of our lives. God wants us to pray for our daily food, for specific people, for financial provision, and for upcoming difficult moments.
I think we too easily gloss over what Jesus said in the Lord’s Prayer…
Give us today the food we need (Matthew 6:11).
No prayer is too small.
We can pray large prayers of faith only after we’ve achieved success with “bread and fish” praying. Jesus gives an amazing promise of His intended blessings for us through our small daily prayers.
So, if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him (Matthew 7:11).
The phrase “much more” can be translated as “abundance.” We see this phrase again when Jesus taught the disciples about faith…
First, Jesus mentioned the apostles’ lack of faith:
They began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? (Matthew 16:7-8, ESV)
Second, Jesus reminded them…
Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? (Matthew 16:9)
The phrase “how many” is the same Greek word as “how much.” Jesus is pointing out to the disciples that the Father not only provided food for the five thousand but also the “abundance” of baskets and baskets of food left over.
Remember that Jesus said, “How much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him!”
We achieve abundance in our prayers not by praying for storms to cease, the lame to walk, or the Ohio State Buckeyes to finally beat Michigan, but by learning to pray small to large in our “bread and fish” daily prayers.
Daily “bread and fish” praying grows our faith.
I’ve listened to many (me included) worry about provision in the future, their misdeeds from the past, and how bad things are getting in our country.
Admittedly these are legitimate concerns.
But our faith should match our anxiety when we learn the secret of “bread and fish” praying. Nothing is too big or too small for God. He has promised us…
Much More! Abundance! So, let’s ask, and baskets will be left over!