The college where I serve as chaplain includes many students who are squeezed financially. Some of them have to choose between buying food, paying rent, or paying their tuition and fees. So when they pray, “Give us today our daily bread,” they mean it literally. And God often answers that prayer through a local bakery that donates thousands of loaves of bread and buns and other baked goods to our campus ministry each year. In addition, local farms donate thousands of pounds of greenhouse vegetables, onions, and potatoes. Still other donors bring us boxes and boxes of groceries. And somehow the bills get paid.

Recently a young student asked if we could pray for her as she was looking to buy her first car. She was not looking for a fancy, expensive car—just a used, economical, and reliable vehicle that would serve her well for several years without major expenses. That request also connected with asking for “daily bread” because it had to do with providing for physical needs.

In the request for “daily bread,” our Lord is teaching us not to worry about all our needs (Matthew 6:25) and that all our striving is in vain without God’s blessing (Psalm 127:1). Praying as Jesus teaches us will help us to grow in our trust and love for God in a world that seeks constantly to draw us away from him.