My Notes
What Does Matthew 6:11 Mean?
Jesus teaches His disciples to pray for daily bread. Not weekly. Not monthly. Not enough bread for the year. Today's bread. The request is deliberately limited to the present day's need. The prayer acknowledges dependence on God for the most basic provision — food — and asks for it one day at a time.
The word "daily" (epiousios) appears only here and in Luke 11:3 in all of Greek literature. It may mean "for the coming day" (tomorrow's bread today), "necessary bread" (what's needed for existence), or "bread for today" (this day's portion). All interpretations share one quality: the request is limited. It's not asking for abundance. It's asking for enough. For today.
The echo of manna is unmistakable: in the wilderness, God provided bread daily (Exodus 16:4). You gathered today's portion. Not tomorrow's (it would rot — 16:20). The daily bread prayer recreates the manna economy: depend on God. Every day. For today's portion. Trust that tomorrow's bread will come tomorrow.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Can you pray for daily bread (limited provision, daily dependence) rather than asking for surplus?
- 2.Does the manna echo (daily provision, can't store tomorrow's) describe the kind of trust Jesus is teaching?
- 3.Is your prayer life daily — returning to God every morning for today's portion?
- 4.Does requesting 'enough for today' feel like trust or anxiety — and which is Jesus designing?
Devotional
Give us today's bread. Today's. Not tomorrow's. Not next week's. Today's.
Jesus teaches the disciples to pray for the most basic, most humble, most limited provision: daily bread. Not a retirement fund. Not a stockpile. Not abundance beyond what's needed. The bread for this day. The portion for these hours. The sustenance that gets you from sunrise to sunset. That's the request.
The limitation is the theology: you ask for today's bread because you trust God for tomorrow's. You don't request the year's supply because the prayer is designed to bring you back tomorrow. The daily asking is the daily trusting. The limited request produces the ongoing dependence.
The manna echo is everywhere: in the wilderness, bread fell daily. You gathered what you needed for today. If you tried to store tomorrow's, it rotted (Exodus 16:20). The economy was daily dependence. The provision was daily faithfulness. And Jesus rebuilds that economy in the Lord's Prayer: give us today's bread.
"Daily" — epiousios — a word so rare it appears nowhere else in Greek literature. Scholars debate its exact meaning. But every interpretation shares one feature: limitation. Today's bread. Necessary bread. The bread for the coming day. However you translate it, it's not a request for surplus. It's a request for sufficiency.
The prayer teaches a posture: dependence. Not anxiety (God knows you need it — Matthew 6:32). Not presumption (tomorrow's bread isn't today's right). Dependence. The daily return to the God who provides daily. The morning prayer that says: I need You again. Like I needed You yesterday. Like I'll need You tomorrow.
The bread is daily. The asking is daily. The trust is daily. And the God who feeds the ravens and clothes the lilies is daily too.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Give us this day our daily bread. The Arabic version reads it, "our bread for tomorrow"; and Jerom says, that in the…
This passage contains the Lord’s prayer, a composition unequalled for comprehensiveness and for beauty. It is supposed…
When Christ had condemned what was amiss, he directs to do better; for his are reproofs of instruction. Because we know…
this day In Luke, "day by day."
our daily bread The Greek word translated "daily" occurs only in the Lord's Prayer here…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture