“Give us this day our daily bread” – Q&A #6

Give us this day our daily bread;
Give us grace for to-day; feed the famished affections;

Question: What does this line of the Lord’s Prayer tell us about the nature and essence of God?

Answer: Jesus knew and taught that God was our Father. Mary Baker Eddy gives us a
spiritual name for God’s fatherhood:  Life. Life is that aspect of God which is eternal Being,
or existence, and which provides all good in great abundance. Life is the Preserver of man.

“God is the Life, or intelligence, which forms and preserves the individuality and identity of animals as well as of men.”  (S&H 550:5-7)

If we come to accept what divine Life really is, we will always be fed, clothed, employed, and sheltered in the best way possible. These supplies will appear to us normally, perhaps as opportunities provided by other people, yet they will be through the grace of God.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17)

“Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth me with benefits, even the God of our salvation.” (Ps. 68:19)

“Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.”  (Ps. 145:16)

The Lord’s Prayer is telling us that God, Life, is a perfect Father, and has already provided for us all we need.

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(Excerpted from “First Lessons in Christian Science, Volume Three: The Lord’s Prayer”
Copyright 2005)

 

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‘Give us this day our daily bread” – Q&A #5

Give us this day our daily bread;
Give us grace for to-day; feed the famished affections;

Question: Will God give us all that we hunger for?

Answer: People may wish for many things they feel they do not have — money, beauty,
popularity, success, fame, family, good grades, talent, or health. What they may not realize
is that they are actually hungry for Life, Truth, and Love. They may think material things or
activities will ease the pain of their lack. But only God’s gift of grace will truly satisfy. So, why
not label our desires correctly, and see that we can only be famished for God’s grace?

“What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience,
meekness, love, and good deeds.” (S&H 4:3-5)

“Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Col. 3:2)

“Dost thou ‘love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind’?
This command includes much, even the surrender of all merely material sensation, affection, and
worship.” (S&H 9:17-21)

“As God is substance and man is the divine image and likeness, man should wish for, and in reality has, only the substance of good, the substance of Spirit, not matter.” (S&H 301:17-20)

We must put our love for God and His spiritual nature above all else. We must sincerely pray
for more grace and Truth. Then we know that God will give us what we hunger for, because
He loves us.
* * *
(Excerpted from “First Lessons in Christian Science, Volume Three: The Lord’s Prayer”
Copyright 2005)

 

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“Give us this day our daily bread” – Q&A #4

Give us this day our daily bread;
Give us grace for to-day; feed the famished affections;

Question: What is meant by “famished affections”?

Answer: To be famished is to be very, very hungry, to the point we are weak, and maybe even starving to death. If we were to be famished for food, we would be begging, or doing anything we could, to get something to eat.

Affections are the fond feelings we have towards other people, animals, things, or experiences that we like or love. We have a desire for them. If we are famished in our affections, we are starved for what we most want, or love, or need. If spiritually alert, we turn to our Father-Mother God to feed these famished affections.

“The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish.” (Prov. 10:3)

“Are we benefited by praying? Yes, the desire which goes forth hungering after righteousness is
blessed of our Father, and it does not return unto us void.”  (S&H 2:4)

You may remember the Beatitude that tells us: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst
after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” (Matt. 5:6)

The chapter on “Prayer” shows that we must learn what kind of desires God will bless. Not
everything we merely want is best for us. But a desire to know God’s truth, or grace, is always blessed:

“Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” (Ps. 37:4)

* * *
(Excerpted from “First Lessons in Christian Science, Volume Three: The Lord’s Prayer”
Copyright 2005)

 

Next:  Give us this day our daily bread – Q&A #5

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“Give us this day our daily bread” – Q&A #3

Give us this day our daily bread;
Give us grace for to-day; feed the famished affections;

Question: What is “grace”?

Answer: Grace is a favor or blessing from God given to His children. As we learned in our lessons on the Beatitudes, “grace is the influence of God in our lives. . . . Grace is God’s mercy.”
(First Lessons, Vol. 2, The Beatitudes, pg. 45)

When we accept God’s grace, and live it, we let our light shine. The Bible teaches:

“My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: For they shall be an
ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.” (Prov. 1:8, 9)

A crown or necklace of grace is more beautiful than any piece of jewelry in the world. And all we have to do each day is to ask God for it, and then put it on.

“When a hungry heart petitions the divine Father-Mother God for bread, it is not given a stone, — but more grace, obedience, and love.” (Mis. 127:11-13)

No one is left out of God’s grace. It is not His will that anyone should be “famished.” He gives grace to us all:

“But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” (Eph. 4:7)

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” (Eph. 2:8)

“To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to-day is big with blessings.”  (S&H vii:1-2)

* * *
(Excerpted from “First Lessons in Christian Science, Volume Three: The Lord’s Prayer”
Copyright 2005)

 

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“Give us this day our daily bread” – Q&A #2

Give us this day our daily bread;
Give us grace for to-day; feed the famished affections;

Question: What is meant by daily bread?

Answer: No one seems to know for sure what the original meaning of the word now translated “daily” meant. The word was rarely used in other literature. But in this phrase of the Lord’s Prayer, it appears to refer to bread that is just enough for one day’s use — especially the day that is today. So, when we pray to God to give us our “daily bread,” we are asking for just enough truth to be used for our spiritual needs today.

“. . . God pours the riches of His love into the understanding and affections, giving us strength according to our day.”  (S&H 5:16-18)

We do not want any more food than we can digest at one time. No wise parent would do that to a child. Can you imagine your mother forcing you to eat all of one week’s meals in one sitting?
Neither would God. So if you are hungry for truth, you ask for and receive only what you can
digest and use today!

“God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies. Never ask for tomorrow: it is enough that divine Love is an ever-present help; and if you wait, never doubting, you will have all you need every moment.”  (Mis. 307:1-5)

The concept of receiving only daily bread, is seen in the story of Moses and the Children of
Israel being fed by manna from heaven. The manna would spoil if too much was taken. We will take a look at that story in another lesson.

* * *
(Excerpted from “First Lessons in Christian Science, Volume Three: The Lord’s Prayer”
Copyright 2005)

 

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“Give us this day our daily bread” – Q&A #1

Give us this day our daily bread;
Give us grace for to-day; feed the famished affections;

Question: What is the “bread” that God gives us?

Answer: In the Bible, bread is often used as a symbol for God’s Word, or His Truth. We read in our textbook:

“Our bread, ‘which cometh down from heaven,’ is Truth.” (S&H 35:26-27)

Bread was a very important food to the people during Bible times, and they needed it to live. They would starve, or be famished, if there was a drought, or something else that caused the crops to fail. God’s Word, or Truth, is just as important to mankind. We would starve if God did not feed us. Mary Baker Eddy writes:

“The Scriptures say, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God,’ showing that Truth is the actual life of man; but mankind objects to making this
teaching practical.” (S&H 410:9)

Bread is often found in Bible stories that show how God feeds His children when they are
receptive to Truth. Perhaps you can recall some stories now. Do you remember any of the
times Jesus spoke of, or used, bread to teach a lesson?

Mary Baker Eddy interprets bread in this line of the Lord’s Prayer, in a very specific way. She calls it grace. We will learn more about grace in another lesson.

O do not bar your mind
Against the light of good;
But open wide, let in the Word
And Truth will be your food.
(Christian Science Hymnal – Hymn 201)

* * *
(Excerpted from “First Lessons in Christian Science, Volume Three: The Lord’s Prayer”
Copyright 2005)

 

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“Give us this day our daily bread” – For Young Children

“Give us this day our daily bread;”

Jesus taught that God gives us everything we need to live. He proved this in many ways. Have you read about the times Jesus fed large groups of people when there was only a little bit of fish and bread to share? God also feeds us. We need food to live. But we also need to be fed with spiritual food. We call this Truth. God feeds us with good thoughts that make us strong, wise, loving, and happy. He gives us what we need each day. We just have to ask Him for it when we pray!

“Give us grace for to-day; feed the famished affections;”

We may become hungry for food to feed our bodies, but sometimes we also have a spiritual hunger. We might be hungry for love or for happiness. We may wish to feel closer to God and His goodness. Mrs. Eddy calls this kind of hunger “famished affections,” and we need “grace” from God to feed these famished affections. This grace is Life and Truth. God blesses us and feeds us with grace every day. We must ask Him for this grace when we pray. In fact, many people say a short prayer at mealtimes thanking God for the food and all His blessings. This is called “saying grace.” We will feel a happy sense of Life when we are fed grace and truth from God. We must go out and live Life by sharing our grace, and being helpful to others.

* * *
(Excerpted from “First Lessons in Christian Science, Volume Three: The Lord’s Prayer”
Copyright 2005)

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