Monthly Prayer: April
"Give us this day our daily bread."
When Jesus taught his Disciples how to pray in Matthew Chapter 6, this line of the Our Father teaches us to look to God for our provision.
Was it physical bread and other food that Jesus was asking us to pray for? Yes, but also more than that.
Remember in Exodus Chapter 16 when God provided bread from Heaven for the Israelites as they wandered in the desert? God sent ravens to provide food for Elijah, and Jesus fed over 5,000 people with very little after thanking God for the food.
God, the provider, is not new to giving food to those in need.
God wants us to rely on Him for our physical nourishment and to thank Him for it too. It is horrifying that there is enough food in our world for everyone, yet 811 million people go hungry every day. We need to pray.
However, "our daily bread" is more than physical food - it’s about spiritual food too. If we elaborated this line of the prayer, we might say "give us everything we need this day to live a life that you are calling us to live".
Give us compassion, give us patience, give us humility, give us perseverance to seek after God. The list could go on. But know this: God is more than able to provide all your needs and the needs of our sisters and brothers.
Let's pray
In a world where millions of people go hungry, we pray that justice prevails and food is distributed evenly across the globe
Help us, God, to be grateful for the food we have and to buy only what we need
We pray that people living in the world’s poorest communities have their needs met so they can enjoy a full and happy life.
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Pope Francis
There are many different ways of praying, all of which add to the rich and beautiful traditions of our faith.
March's reflection comes from Rose Waswa, SCIAF's partner in Zambia who works for Caritas Kabwe.
Pray along with us by downloading our reflection resources.
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