Our Daily Bread

How often have you prayed “give us this day our daily bread…, without really considering what you were asking? Our daily bread is not just physical provision but also spiritual. When we ask, knowing what we ask, God will give us our daily bread – His Word for the day. Scripture, the written Word of God is to be our foundation, but in order to be led by and be obedient to Holy Spirit, we must know His voice. Holy Spirit came to earth to be our helper. He came to lead and guide us on a daily basis.

God expects us to read His word, but God also desires for you to know His voice. He so wants intimate relationship with you that He has made available His Spirit, the third person of the triune God-head to live within you and to guide you daily.

In Exodus, there is an account of God supplying daily sustenance for His people. He gave them just what was needed for the day. They could not save yesterdays manna for today, because it would spoil and they could not receive tomorrow’s manna today (except on the day before the sabbath). The people had to rise and gather their manna, their daily sustenance, each and every day. Manna, otherwise know as “what is it?”, was given to His people everyday for forty years while God was leading them throughout the wilderness.

Exodus 16:15, “So when the children 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, ‘This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, (v 19) And Moses said, ‘Let no one leave any of it till morning.’

You can’t save up yesterdays “word”, you must be obedient to it as Holy Spirit speaks it. If you wait until tomorrow, your sustenance will be spoiled. You will be left hungry, weak, and unsatisfied. You can’t receive tomorrow’s “Word” today, because you are not ready to receive it. You must live daily and obey daily, and that prepares you and positions you for tomorrow. Just as you must take the first step before you can take the second, today’s manna prepares you for tomorrow’s.

God provided the meat of the word to strengthen us and manna, our daily bread, to guide us daily. He sends us truth each and every day.

How do you recognize manna? You must recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit, whether He speaks directly to you or through someone else to you. Holy Spirit speaks to you through many avenues. The question is, do you recognize Him? Do you know His truth enough to recognize when it is presented to you. Have you been seeking God for guidance and therefore, recognize it when received through another? Do you hear God speak through the song you just heard or the book you just read? Have you received revelation from scripture that you’ve read a hundred times before but just came alive to you today?

The only way to recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit is by spending time with Him. Jesus said in John 6:48-51, “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven.” You must have relationship with Jesus, the son of God. You must make it a daily habit to spend time with Him and allow Holy Spirit to lead and guide you into your everyday purpose. You can’t wait until tomorrow to seek God for today. And you can’t find out the future unless you are obedient to today’s word. God expects us to have the faith to live day by day, fully expecting our manna to be there waiting for us when we seek it. He will never leave us nor forsake us. If we seek Him, we will find Him. If we make it a daily practice to partake of our “daily bread” we will be strengthened by the Spirit to fulfill our purpose.

So, the next time you pray, “give us this day our daily bread”, think about what you ask. Look for your daily manna in those you come across, in the book you read, the song you sing, or the verse you partake. God will lead us, everyday. We must purpose in our hearts to hear His voice and be obedient to it, daily!

Originally posted on Laurie Webb Ministries.

Our Daily Bread By Linda Lane, available at: http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Our-Daily-Bread-Posters_i988604_.htm