The other day my son, Eli, who is 2 yrs old, was eating mashed potatoes. He finished what we had given him and turned to Melissa and me and said, “More ma tatoes. (his version of mashed potatoes)” There was a problem, though, we had given him the last of the mashed potatoes. We had no more.

So, we told Eli, “Mashed potatoes all gone. We don’t have anymore.” Eli didn’t like hearing this. He repeated again a bit louder, “MORE MA TATOES!” It didn’t help, though. There was nothing we could do.

My son was essentially doing to me, the same thing we do with God when we pray the Lord’s prayer. We ask for many things, including our daily bread, because we want and even need these things. Like God, I love to provide for my son. The difference, however, is that God is always able to provide, where I have limits.

At the beginning of the prayer, Jesus tells us to address God as Father. This shows us our relationship with God as we pray, that we can come to Him in confidence and boldness as a child comes to their parent who they know loves them and will care for them. At the end of the prayer, Jesus tells us why we pray to God and not others. It’s God’s kingdom and He has all the power. He is able to give what we ask.

We see this echoed in Ephesians.