Matthew 6:11 is a request to God for the food and provision needed for one day at a time. Jesus teaches his followers to ask the Father for what they need today, not for a stockpile that removes the need to depend on him. Jesus says this as part of the model prayer he gives his disciples during the Sermon on the Mount, speaking to a crowd of ordinary listeners on a hillside in Galilee.
Give us today our daily bread.
Matthew 6:11 (WEB)
What Matthew 6:11 Means
The phrase “give us” is plural, so the prayer is spoken for a community rather than only for an individual. Those who pray it ask on behalf of their neighbors as well as themselves, which shapes how the request sounds in a shared house of worship or a family meal. The word “us” also reminds the one praying that God’s care reaches the whole household of faith.
“Today” is the word that gives the verse its focus. Jesus does not tell his listeners to ask for a year’s supply or a retirement account. He asks them to bring the needs of this single day to God and trust him for the next one tomorrow. The phrase “our daily bread” refers to the food a household needed to get through a day, and by extension to everything required for life, from shelter to health to the ordinary means of work.
The verse does not promise a luxurious life, nor does it guarantee that every hardship will be removed. It teaches dependence, the honest admission that we rely on God for what we cannot secure ourselves. It also assumes that God delights to answer such requests from children who ask in trust.
The Context of Matthew 6:11
The Gospel of Matthew was written for a mostly Jewish audience, and it presents Jesus as the teacher who gives a new and deeper understanding of God’s law. The Sermon on the Mount, in chapters 5 through 7, is his longest recorded teaching, and chapter 6 addresses how his followers should practice generosity, prayer, and fasting without seeking the approval of others. The prayer itself appears inside this discussion of sincere, unshowy devotion.
Just before the prayer, Jesus tells his listeners not to heap up empty words as the Gentiles do, because the Father already knows what they need. The prayer therefore is not a way to inform God of anything. It is a way of placing needs in his hands and acknowledging his authority. Right after the verse comes the petition about forgiveness, which shows that daily bread and daily forgiveness belong together in the life of someone who depends on God.
Key Phrases in Matthew 6:11
Philippians 4:19
My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
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Paul writes this promise to a church that had shared generously with him in hardship. It widens the picture of daily bread into the larger truth that God supplies needs according to his riches in Christ. Reading it alongside the Lord’s Prayer helps us see provision as an expression of God’s generous character.
Exodus 16:4
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law, or not.
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This verse describes God’s promise to rain bread from heaven each day for the Israelites in the wilderness, with a command to gather only what they needed. The pattern of daily dependence in the wilderness illuminates why Jesus teaches his followers to ask for bread one day at a time.
A Short Prayer From Matthew 6:11
Father, you already know what I need before I say a word, and still you invite me to ask. Today I bring you the food on my table, the work in front of me, and the worries I have been carrying in my chest. Give me what I need for this day, and teach me to rest in your care rather than grasping for more than I can hold. Help me to trust you for tomorrow when it comes, and to share what you give with the people you have placed around me. Amen.
