Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread - Pastor Will Shurley (Sun, Nov 2, 2025)

Nov 02, 2025

Devotional

Day 1: Trusting God for Daily Provision

The story of the Israelites in the wilderness reminds us that even when our needs seem overwhelming and our resources scarce, God is faithful to provide exactly what we need each day. The Israelites, despite witnessing God’s mighty acts of deliverance, struggled to trust Him when faced with hunger, longing for the certainty of Egypt over the uncertainty of God’s daily provision. Yet, God responded not with anger, but with grace, raining down manna from heaven and teaching His people to rely on Him one day at a time. In our own lives, we are called to trust God for our daily bread, believing that He knows our needs and will provide for us as we journey through our own wilderness seasons. [28:08]

Exodus 16:2-5, 11-21 (ESV)
And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” ... And the Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’” In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

Reflection: Where in your life are you tempted to grasp for control or security rather than trusting God to provide for you today?

Day 2: Freedom from Anxiety through Kingdom Perspective

Jesus calls His followers to a radical freedom from anxiety, urging them not to worry about daily needs but to seek first the kingdom of God, trusting that their heavenly Father knows and cares for every detail of their lives. He points to the birds of the air and the lilies of the field as living testimonies of God’s faithful provision, reminding us that our value to God far exceeds that of the rest of creation. This invitation is not to ignore our needs, but to place them in the context of God’s loving sovereignty, learning to rest in His care and to let tomorrow’s worries wait for another day. [31:56]

Matthew 6:25-34 (ESV)
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious 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: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Reflection: What is one specific worry you can entrust to God today, choosing instead to focus on seeking His kingdom?

Day 3: Praying with the Right Perspective

The Lord’s Prayer teaches us to bring our needs before God, but only after we have first oriented our hearts toward His name, His kingdom, and His will. This order is not accidental; it shapes our desires and reminds us that our requests for daily bread are to be made from a place of trust and surrender, not from anxiety or self-centeredness. When we pray for our needs in the context of God’s greater purposes, we are reminded that He is a faithful Father and a benevolent King, and that our lives are part of His unfolding story of redemption. [45:47]

Matthew 6:9-11 (ESV)
“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread…’”

Reflection: Before you bring your needs to God in prayer today, take a moment to praise Him for who He is and to surrender your will to His—how does this change the way you pray?

Day 4: Daily Trust, Not Self-Sufficiency

While planning and stewardship are wise, Jesus calls us to a posture of daily dependence on God rather than self-sufficiency. The temptation to believe that we control our own destiny is strong, but the prayer for daily bread is a daily reminder that all we have comes from God’s hand. We are invited to live each day as an act of obedience and stewardship, not as a declaration of our own control, trusting that God will provide what we need for today and trusting Him with tomorrow. [50:24]

Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Reflection: In what area of your life are you relying on your own plans or strength instead of daily trusting God to lead and provide?

Day 5: Praying for “Our” Daily Bread—A Community Perspective

Jesus teaches us to pray not just for “my” daily bread, but for “our” daily bread, reminding us that God’s provision is meant for the whole community of His people. Our prayers for provision should always have a “lateral glance,” prompting us to care for the needs of others and to be willing to become part of God’s answer to their prayers. As we trust God to meet our needs, we are also called to be attentive and responsive to the needs of those around us, embodying the generosity and compassion of the kingdom. [54:27]

Acts 2:44-47 (ESV)
And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Reflection: Who in your community or church might need “daily bread” today—physical, emotional, or spiritual—and how can you be part of God’s provision for them?

Sermon Summary

The story of Israel in the wilderness, longing for bread and grumbling against God, is a mirror for our own hearts. Despite witnessing God’s mighty acts of deliverance—plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, water from the rock—the Israelites quickly forgot his faithfulness when faced with hunger. Their anxiety led them to wish for the familiarity of slavery over the uncertainty of freedom, revealing how easily we too can lose sight of God’s promises when our immediate needs press in. Yet, God’s response was not anger or punishment, but daily provision: manna from heaven, enough for each day, teaching his people to trust him moment by moment.

Jesus echoes this lesson in the Lord’s Prayer, instructing us to ask for “our daily bread” only after we have prayed for God’s name, kingdom, and will. This order is not accidental. It reminds us that our material needs are real and valid, but they are to be understood in the context of God’s greater purposes. We are not to rush to our requests as if God were a cosmic vending machine, but to root our prayers in the reality of who God is—a faithful Father, a benevolent King, a strong Deliverer. Our trust is not in our own ability to plan or control, but in the God who has already delivered us and promises to sustain us.

This daily dependence is not an excuse for passivity or lack of planning, but a call to stewardship. We are to prepare, to work, to care for what God has given, but always as an act of trust and obedience, not as a declaration of self-sufficiency. And crucially, the prayer for daily bread is not just for ourselves. Jesus teaches us to pray in the plural—“our” daily bread—reminding us that God’s provision is meant for the whole community. Our prayers and actions must have a “lateral glance,” attentive to the needs of others, so that the riches of God’s kingdom are shared among all his people.

Until the day when God’s kingdom is fully realized, we are called to trust, to remember, and to share. May we find our daily bread as we journey through our own wilderness, satisfied by the manna God provides, and strengthened to be bread for others.

Key Takeaways

1. Remembering God’s Faithfulness in the Face of Need When immediate needs arise, it is easy to forget the ways God has provided in the past. The Israelites, only a month out of Egypt, were ready to trade their freedom for the comfort of full stomachs, forgetting the miracles they had witnessed. Our challenge is to cultivate a memory of God’s faithfulness, allowing past deliverance to shape our present trust, especially when the future feels uncertain. [40:09]
2. The Order of Prayer Shapes the Heart Jesus teaches us to pray for daily bread only after seeking God’s name, kingdom, and will. This order is not a formality but a spiritual discipline, reorienting our desires and reminding us that our needs are met within the context of God’s larger purposes. When we pray from this vantage point, our requests become acts of trust rather than demands born of anxiety. [45:47]
3. Daily Dependence vs. Self-Sufficiency While planning and stewardship are wise, Jesus calls us to a posture of daily dependence on God. The temptation is to believe that our security lies in our own preparation or control, but true security is found in trusting God for each day’s provision. This daily trust frees us from anxiety about the future and anchors us in the reality of God’s ongoing care. [51:45]
4. Bread for All: The Communal Nature of God’s Provision The Lord’s Prayer is intentionally plural—“our” daily bread—reminding us that God’s provision is not just for individuals but for the whole community. Our prayers and actions must reflect a concern for the needs of others, refusing to be so consumed with our own worries that we ignore the hungry, the lonely, or the suffering. The riches of God’s kingdom are meant to be shared, and we are called to be part of the answer to the prayers we pray. [54:27]
5. Trusting God in the Wilderness The journey through the wilderness is not just a story of ancient Israel, but a metaphor for our own lives. In seasons of uncertainty, scarcity, or fear, God invites us to trust him for daily bread, to remember his past faithfulness, and to look forward in hope. As we do, we are strengthened not only to endure but to become sources of strength and provision for others, embodying the kingdom that is coming. [55:41]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[28:08] - Israel’s Grumbling in the Wilderness
[29:57] - God’s Response: Manna and Quail
[31:56] - Jesus’ Teaching on Anxiety and Provision
[33:49] - The Meaning of “Daily Bread”
[35:05] - The Danger of Rushing to Our Requests
[37:36] - The Israelites’ Short Memory
[40:09] - Forgetting God’s Deliverance
[42:10] - Faithlessness and Short-Sightedness
[44:38] - The Vantage Point of Our Prayers
[45:47] - The Order and Context of Prayer
[47:39] - God’s Grace in Daily Provision
[49:04] - Planning, Trust, and Christian Vocation
[51:45] - Stewardship vs. Self-Sufficiency
[54:27] - The Communal Prayer for Bread
[55:41] - Trusting God in Our Own Wilderness
[57:12] - Affirmation of Faith and Announcements
[62:50] - Prayers for the Church and the World
[67:19] - Offering and Closing Song

Bible Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide: “Daily Bread in the Wilderness”

Bible Reading

Exodus 16:1-18 (ESV)
> They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
> Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”
> So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we, that you grumble against us?”
> ...
> (Read the full passage: Exodus 16:1-18)

Matthew 6:9-13, 25-34 (ESV)
> “Pray then like this:
> ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
> Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
> Give us this day our daily bread,
> and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
> And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’”
> ...
> “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious 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? ... But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
> (Read the full passage: Matthew 6:9-13, 25-34)

Observation Questions

What did the Israelites complain about in the wilderness, and how did God respond to their grumbling? (Exodus 16:2-4) [[28:08]]
According to Jesus in Matthew 6, what should come first in our prayers before we ask for “daily bread”? [[45:47]]
How often did God provide manna for the Israelites, and what instructions did He give about gathering it? (Exodus 16:4-5, 19-21) [[30:36]]
In the Lord’s Prayer, what word does Jesus use to describe whose bread we are to pray for? (Matthew 6:11) [[53:44]]

Interpretation Questions

Why do you think the Israelites were so quick to forget God’s miracles and wish for the “familiarity of slavery” when they faced hunger? What does this reveal about human nature? [[40:09]]
The sermon says that the order of the Lord’s Prayer is not accidental. How does starting with God’s name, kingdom, and will shape the way we pray for our needs? [[45:47]]
The Israelites were told not to hoard manna but to trust God for each day’s provision. What is the difference between wise planning and self-sufficiency, according to the sermon? [[51:45]]
Jesus teaches us to pray for “our” daily bread, not just “my” daily bread. What does this plural language suggest about how we should view God’s provision? [[54:27]]

Application Questions

When you face immediate needs or anxieties, do you tend to forget God’s past faithfulness? Can you share a time when you struggled to trust God’s provision? What helped you remember? [[40:09]]
The sermon warns against treating God like a “cosmic vending machine” or “candy dish.” In what ways do you find yourself rushing to your requests in prayer, and how could you reorient your prayers to start with God’s character and purposes? [[35:42]]
Are there areas in your life where you are tempted to rely on your own planning or control rather than daily dependence on God? What would it look like to practice stewardship as an act of trust instead of self-sufficiency? [[51:45]]
The Lord’s Prayer is communal—“our daily bread.” Who in your life or community might be in need of “bread” (literal or figurative)? How can you be part of God’s provision for them this week? [[54:27]]
The Israelites’ journey through the wilderness is described as a metaphor for our own lives. What “wilderness” are you currently walking through, and how can you practice trusting God for daily bread in this season? [[55:41]]
The sermon says that remembering God’s faithfulness in the past can shape our present trust. What are some practical ways you can remind yourself (or your family) of God’s past provision when you feel anxious about the future? [[40:09]]
Jesus teaches us to pray for daily bread, not monthly or yearly. How might focusing on “today” change your approach to worry, planning, and generosity? [[33:10]]

Closing Prayer Suggestion:
Invite someone to pray, thanking God for His daily provision, asking for help to trust Him in the “wilderness,” and for eyes to see and meet the needs of others in the community.

Sermon Clips

“You know, in a very literal sense, when we consider this prayer, give us this day our daily bread. Daily bread is not something that we ordinarily have to think just a whole lot about. In fact, the petition for daily bread, if we begin to think about where it sits within the Lord's prayer, sandwiched between the petitions about God's coming kingdom and then later forgiveness of sins, it may seem that praying for daily bread actually seems just a little bit out of place.”

“That's a great image, isn't it? He said, you know, when when he wants something, he goes to the candy dish and expects that he's going to get it. And if he doesn't get it, he gets mad and he accuses God of being awful. But if he does get what he wants from the great cosmic candy dish, he just walks off, assuming that the candy dish will sit there waiting for him.”

“Jesus instructs us to pray for our daily bread is that this is the only request. is the only petition in the entirety of the Lord's Prayer that speaks directly to our human material needs. It's the only petition that speaks to our wants. And yet Jesus clearly by teaching his disciples to pray this way legitimizes our presenting to God our request and most earnest desires.”

“But it's also clear in Jesus's teaching that disciples, whether they be in antiquity or even disciples today, are to present these sorts of petitions, these these requests for material blessings only after we have spent time in prayer for things about the nature of God, about his heavenly realm, his kingdom, and his will.”

“Now, you would think that the Israelites would have had a longer view of history, that is being only a month out and having seen with their own eyes all of this, that they would have remembered everything that God would have done for and through him. You would have thought that they would have remembered and therefore would have understood after everything that they were the living expression of God's intent to deliver his people from slavery and into the promised land.”

“You would have thought that they would have remembered that they were an Exodus people and people right smack in the middle of being moved from slavery and into the glorious hope of God's coming kingdom. You would think they would have known that because the thing is it's one heck of an identity. I mean, these are the people who are living the dream. They are living out the hope for God's coming kingdom into the world.”

“Isn't it amazing what we will do? Isn't it amazing what will happen when you have psychological or physical needs that you worry aren't going to be met. Isn't it amazing what happens when you're hungry and what it does to your memory? You know, I have no doubt, zero doubt, that the Israelites were hungry. I have no doubt that they needed bread and there was no Publix to come to their rescue.”

“But John Calvin in his commentary on this passage brooks no sympathy for them. He castigates them as faithless. And the reality is even though some of us are more sympathetic when push comes to shove that is the case. They were faithless because of the rumble in their tummies. Much in the same vein that Esau traded in his birthright for a bowl of stew.”

“You see, the Israelites, when they were faced with being hungry, they were willing to trade in everything that God had done up to this point, they were ready to trade in the hope for a glorious future for slavery in Egypt if it meant they could fill their bellies. Now, Calvin is right, and it's good for us to keep this in mind. This is shortsighted. It's faithless.”

“Unfortunately, even today, we have more in common with the Israelites than we might like to admit. Because the reality is we often stand looking into a very fragile, very insecure, risky world, one that is so immediate and so practical. Think about it. Lord, when are you going to let me find a job that will allow me to put food on the table?”

“Now, no doubt, these are prayers that are sincere expressions of our deepest desires. And they are they are prayers that are that are not wrong. They are prayers that are birthed from the realities that we face as men and women who live daily with a human condition of frailty and mortality and a sure dose of reality that many things in this life are beyond our control.”

“From what vantage point do we offer our prayers? Are they from a place of radical trust in God? Are they rooted in the hope that we have for his coming kingdom? Do we pray really desiring that his will be done? Or do we need a gut check? Are our prayers coming from somewhere else? from our own personal Egypt.”

“See the first petitions of the Lord's prayer are the ones that set the terms by which we understand God and we understand ourselves. That is that God is a faithful father, a benevolent king, a strong deliverer and we are his beloved children living with a hope of the kingdom that shall come.”

“Surely if God can and did deliver his chosen people by defeating Pharaohs and by parting the Red Sea, surely if God can and did save his people even to the point of conquering death, then surely he's going to provide them with what they need to live, the life that he intends them to live in the realization of his coming kingdom.”

“You see, part of the grace in this text is that against all of this, one of the things that we come to discover in the Exodus story is that God didn't hold it against the Israelites. God doesn't hold it against them that they in essence forgot about him, that they had forgotten what he had done, that they had forgotten what he called them to be.”

“You see, Jesus in his prayer teaches his followers to trust God. Not just in general, but to trust him daily when he teaches them to pray, "Lord, give us this day our daily bread." It was it was several years ago um sitting out on a porch in Waco, Texas, I was in school and a a friend of mine who has been extraordinarily successful uh in this life and has has done some really great things.”

Ask a question about this sermon