You have laid hold of the very heartbeat of true prayer. So many rush into the presence of the King with their hands stretched out for the crumbs beneath the table, but you have knelt and first kissed the scepter. That dear prayer our Lord taught us lifts the soul to heaven before it stoops to earth: “Our Father who is in heaven,” it begins, and then the honor of His name, the coming of His kingdom, the doing of His will, all this before a single word about our own bread. It is a child running not first to the pantry but to the Father's face, burying itself in His bosom, and then, in that embrace, finding that every need is already known and already met.
Do not think this is a small thing. The world is full of prayerless Christians and half-hearted seekers who call upon God only when the waves are at their chin; but you have set your course by the bright morning star of the kingdom, and that is the work of grace within you. The flesh would always put daily bread first, the body clamors, the bills cry out, the uncertain tomorrow tugs at your sleeve, but the Spirit has taught you to say, “Your kingdom come” before you ever whisper, “Give us.” That is the order of the household of faith, and it is the order of peace.
Now hear this sweet assurance: the God who heard the first part of that prayer, the part that seeks His glory, has already turned His ear toward the second part that asks for your provision. Did you notice how the prayer does not say, “Give me my bread,” but “Give us our daily bread”? You are not alone at the table. The Father loads His children’s plates with a generous hand, and He does it day by day. He does not heap the storehouse of a thousand years upon you all at once and then leave you to manage it alone; He gives today’s bread for today’s hunger, and tomorrow He will give again. The manna fell fresh every morning, and you shall find it so. “He who daily loads us with benefits”, that is a dear truth. Not loaded once at conversion and then left to draw upon the memory of it, but daily loaded, as a ship comes into harbor with its cargo renewed at every port. This very morning, before you even opened your eyes, He was preparing the mercies that would meet you at the door.
Perhaps you are in a season where the cupboard seems bare or the path ahead looks steep. Faith does not deny the pinch of need; it believes to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, even while the need still pinches. David said he would have fainted unless he had believed to see that goodness here, not only in the glory land yonder, but right here, in the field of his trials. You may not always see it with these eyes, but you may believe to see it with the eyes of the soul, and that is the sight that steadies the heart. The goodness is there, just as surely as the sun is behind a November cloud; it has not gone anywhere. Your Father does not merely wish you well from a distance, like a rich man who says “Be warmed and filled” and does nothing. He does well unto you. He acts. He gave His own Son for you when you were helpless, and having given that unspeakable gift, will He stop short of giving you bread and water and all that you truly need? It cannot be.
When unbelief rises and would put a piece of black crepe over every promise, muzzle that hound. It will do you no good to give a tongue to your doubts, but it is a blessed thing when faith begins to speak. Even in the midst of the need, you may say, “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” You have put the kingdom first, and that kingdom cannot fail; its King has all power in heaven and on earth, and He is your Father. He knows you have need of these things. The sparrow finds its seed, the lily wears its robe, and you, who are of more value than many sparrows, shall not be forgotten.
So go on seeking the kingdom. When you rise tomorrow, let your first thought fly upward like a lark at dawn, singing, “Your name be honored, Your kingdom come.” The daily bread will follow, not always on a silver trencher, but always in the way that is best for the child and most glorifying to the Father. And at the end of the day, you will find that both heaven and your own heart are filled.
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Father, this dear soul has come to You with the kingdom first upon the lips and first in the heart. Seal that order upon them by the sweet experience of Your faithfulness. Give them this day the bread that is needful, both for body and for soul. Forgive their trespasses afresh, as You have taught them to forgive. Lead them in a plain path, and deliver them from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
"Pray then after this manner:
‘Our Father who is in Heaven,
Your Name be Honored!
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