Q.104. What do we pray for in the fourth petition?

A. In the fourth petition (which is, Give us this day our daily bread[i]) we pray, That of God’s free gift we may receive a competent portion of the good things of this life, and enjoy his blessing with them.[k]

[i] Matt. 6:11.

[k] Prov. 30:8,9. Gen. 28:20. 1 Tim. 4:4,5.

We are here taught,

1. That the fourth petition in the Lord’s Prayer is, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

2. That temporal good things may be made the subject of prayer.

3. That every good thing which we enjoy is undeserved by us, and is a free gift from God.

4. That we are to seek only what may be necessary for the present day, and not to be over-anxious for the future.

5. That we are to ask for such a portion of the good things of life, as God in his wisdom sees to be best for us.

6. That we must ask God’s blessing on what we receive, which alone makes temporal good things valuable.