READ: EXODUS 16:4; MATTHEW 6:9-11, 31-34; JOHN 6:25-51

Father, we come, we kneel, we pray.
As You have commanded
we ask bread for today.

Bread for today and today alone—
Your grace we need
for tomorrow’s unknown.

Tomorrow’s unknown looms ahead—
We fear it, Lord!
We confess our dread.

Ah, dark dread—may you forever be
forbidden and crushed
by His wounds on the Tree.

His wounds run deep
with healing strength,
His sinless blood
makes darkness shrink—

‘Till darkness fades and fear gives way
to glorious hope—
Resurrection Day!

Father, we come, we stand,
we sing!
You are the Bread,
Everlasting King,
To You alone
All praise we bring.

I love the metaphors Jesus uses in Scripture—like calling Himself the “bread of God,” “bread of life,” and the “living bread” (John 6:33, 35, 51). By using a metaphor about something we can touch, taste, and smell—something as life-giving as bread—Jesus communicates crucial things about Himself that ordinary descriptions simply fail to do. • G. Kam Congleton

• Consider taking some time to reread today’s Scripture passages. Why do you think Jesus tells us to ask for “daily bread” (Matthew 6:11)?

• And in John 6, why would Jesus compare Himself to bread? What point is Jesus making to His listeners that is hard for some of them to swallow? (Okay, pun intended!)

“For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” John 6:33 (NIV)