Interpretation of the Lord's Prayer's Daily Bread Petition
The Lord's Prayer, as recorded in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4, includes the petition "Give us this day our daily bread" [1, 2]. This request has been interpreted in various ways throughout Christian history.
The phrase "daily bread" is understood by some as referring to physical sustenance necessary for daily life. According to Augustine, this petition is to be understood in two ways: as a request for both bodily food and spiritual support [5]. The Heidelberg Catechism, a Reformed confession, interprets this petition as a request for God to care for all physical needs, acknowledging Him as the source of everything good [7].
The term "daily bread" is translated from the Greek word "epiousios", which appears nowhere else in classical or sacred Greek. This has led to various interpretations, with some understanding it to mean "bread for the coming day" or "bread for tomorrow" [4]. John Gill, a Baptist/Reformed commentator, notes that the Arabic version reads it as "our bread for tomorrow", and Jerome found a similar reading in the Hebrew Gospel used by the Nazarenes [8].
The petition is not just about physical bread but also has spiritual connotations. Augustine interprets "daily bread" as spiritual food, namely divine precepts that should be meditated on daily [3]. The blessed Cyprian, as cited by Augustine, understands the petition as a request for perseverance, relating it to the daily reception of the Eucharist [6].
Calvin, one theologian, explains that the petition for bread precedes that for forgiveness of sins because it acknowledges God's kindness and our distrust. He also notes that the term "our bread" signifies that God provides for our needs [9]. Luther's Small Catechism, a Lutheran document, teaches that God gives daily bread to all, but the petition is about recognizing this gift and receiving it with thanksgiving [10].
The variation in wording between Matthew ("Give us this day our daily bread") and Luke ("Give us day by day our daily bread") has also been noted. While Matthew's version is often seen as a request for present needs, Luke's version emphasizes the ongoing nature of the request [1, 2, 4].
The interpretation of the daily bread petition reflects a range of theological emphases within Christian traditions. While there is agreement that it involves a request for necessary sustenance, the understanding of what this sustenance entails — physical, spiritual, or both — varies. The petition remains a central element of Christian prayer, encouraging trust in God's provision.
The historical development of this doctrine is evident in the writings of the early Church Fathers and the Reformation confessions. The patristic interpretation, as seen in Augustine's works, laid the groundwork for later theological articulations [3, 5, 6]. The Reformation confessions, such as the Heidelberg Catechism and Luther's Small Catechism, further clarified the petition's meaning within their respective theological frameworks [7, 10].
The daily bread petition continues to be a vital part of Christian worship and theology, reflecting the complex interplay between physical and spiritual needs. As such, it remains a subject of ongoing reflection and interpretation within Christian traditions.
Sources
- Matthew “Matthew 6:11 (BBE) — Give us this day bread for our needs.”
- Luke “Luke 11:3 (BBE) — Give us every day bread for our needs.”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 6: Augustine — Homilies on the Gospels — CHAP. VII.--25. The fourth petition is, "Give us this day our daily bread." Daily bread is put either for all those things which meet the wants of this life, in reference to which He says in His teach (part 2): should understand the daily bread as spiritual, that is to say, divine precepts, which we ought daily to meditate and to labour after. For just with respect to these the Lord says, "Labour for the meat which perisheth not." That food, moreover, is called daily food at present, so long as this temporal life is measured off by means of da”
- Matthew (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Matthew 6:11: Give us this day our daily bread--The compound word here rendered "daily" occurs nowhere else, either in classical or sacred Greek, and so must be interpreted by the analogy of its component parts. But on this critics are divided. To those who would understand it to mean, "Give us this day the bread of to-morrow"--as if the sense thus slid into that of Luke "Give us day by day" (Luk 11:2, as BENGEL, MEYER, &c.) it may be answered that the sense thus brought out is scarcely intelligible, if not something less; that the expression "bread of to-morrow" i”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 6: Augustine — Homilies on the Gospels — AGAIN, ON MATT. VI. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. TO (part 5): bread then? For then it will not be called, "day by day," but "to-day." Now it is called, "day by day," when one day passes away, and another day succeeds. Will it be called "day by day," when there will be one eternal day? This petition for daily bread is doubtless to be understood in two ways, both for the necessary supply of our bodily food, and for the necessities of our spiritual support. There is a necessary supply of bodily food, for the preservation of our daily life, without which”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 5: Augustine — Anti-Pelagian — CHAP. 7 [IV.]--THE FOURTH PETITION.: The fourth petition is, "Give us this day our daily bread,"(1) where the blessed Cyprian shows how here also perseverance is understood to be asked for. Because he says, among other things, "And we ask that this bread should be given to us daily, that we who are in Christ, and daily receive the Eucharist for the food of salvation, may not by the interposition of some heinous sin be separated from Christ's body by being withheld from communicating and prevented from partaking of the heavenly bread."(2) These words of ”
- Heidelberg Catechism (Reformed) “Heidelberg Catechism (Reformed, 1563), Q. What does the fourth petition mean?: Q. What does the fourth petition mean? A. “Give us this day our daily bread” means: Do take care of all our physical needs1 so that we come to know that you are the only source of everything good,2 and that neither our work and worry nor your gifts can do us any good without your blessing.3 And so help us to give up our trust in creatures and trust in you alone.4 1 Ps. 104:27-30; 145:15-16; Matt. 6:25-34 2 Acts 14:17; 17:25; James 1:17 3 Deut. 8:3; Ps. 37:16; 127:1-2; 1 Cor. 15:58 4 Ps. 55:22; 62; 146; Jer. 17:5-8; ”
- Matthew (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Matthew 6:11: Give us this day our daily bread. The Arabic version reads it, "our bread for tomorrow"; and Jerom says, that in the Hebrew Gospel, used by the Nazarenes, he found the word which signifies "tomorrow": but this reading and sense seem to be contradicted by Christ, Mat 6:34 were it not that it may be observed, that this signifies the whole subsequent time of life, and so furnishes us with a very commodious sense of this petition; which is, that God would give us, "day by day", as Luke expresses it, Luk 11:3 that is, every day of our lives, to the end thereof, a proper s”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 75: three things. Advent of the kingdom of God in the world. 43. Distinction between the second and third petitions. The will here meant not the secret will or good pleasure of God, but that manifested in the word. Conclusion of the three first petitions. 44. A summary of the second part of the Lord’s Prayer. Three petitions. What contained in the first. Declares the exceeding kindness of God, and our distrust. What meant by bread. Why the petition for bread precedes that for the forgiveness of sins. Why it is called ours. Why to be so”
- Luther's Small Catechism (Lutheran) “Luther's Small Catechism (Lutheran, 1529), –Answer: 4bGod gives daily: –Answer: 4bGod gives daily bread, even without our prayer, to all wicked men; but we pray in this petition that He would lead us to know it, and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.”