The Lord’s Prayer, Fifth Petition: The Bread of Life and Daily Dependence

Having prayed for the will of God to be done, we now ask for what sustains us in that obedience: “Give us this day our daily bread.” This petition may be understood both literally and spiritually, and Augustine embraces both meanings, since God cares for both body and soul.

Taken literally, it teaches moderation and trust. We do not ask for riches, but for what is sufficient for the day. “This day” reminds us that life is received moment by moment from the hand of God. By asking daily, we are kept from pride and from anxiety, depending always upon the Father who provides.

Spiritually understood, this bread is Christ Himself, the living Bread who came down from heaven. To ask for our daily bread is to desire continual nourishment from His Word and His Sacrament. As the body cannot live without food, so the soul cannot live without Christ. This bread is “daily” because we must receive Him continually by faith, lest we grow faint on the way.

The petition also teaches charity, for we say “our” bread, not “my” bread. What is given to one is meant for all. The one who hoards what God provides breaks the meaning of the prayer, which asks for sustenance as a shared gift of the Father to His children.

Thus the prayer, which began with praise and the desire for God’s glory, now reaches the humble acknowledgment of our need. We depend upon Him for all things — for the life of the body and for the life of the soul. The one who has learned to receive daily bread with gratitude is already rich in the kingdom of heaven.

Source: St. Augustine, On the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Book II, Chapter 7.