Please Note

You are viewing the old version of the Forward Movement prayer site, which is no longer updated. It is possible that content may not reflect the latest updates, and may contain errors.

Daily Prayer: a resource of Forward Movement

The Forward Day by Day Meditation for May 5, 2022

We post a Forward Day by Day Meditation for every day of the year - and we invite you to consider them and talk about them here. If you'd like to comment, you can log in to Disqus with your Facebook, Twitter, or Google account; just click "Login," or the appropriate logo below. Or, you can sign up for a Disqus account; just use the entry form below, or click the "D" logo to start the process. You can find the past week's Meditations in the box at right (or below, for mobile users), or search for previous entries on the Archives page. You can also listen to the Forward Day by Day podcast anywhere you find podcasts!

Please note: you won't be able to use the Comment feature unless you enable Javascript in your browser. In general, your overall experience on the Daily Prayer site will be greatly enhanced if you enable Javascript.

THURSDAY, May 5
[Martyrs of the Reformation Era]

Matthew 4:4 But [Jesus] answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

My wife and I offered bread made from our very first wheat crop for Holy Communion. We ground kernels of wheat in a blender for five minutes as we tried to make flour. It did not measure up to our expectations. With the first bite, we worried that we would be responsible for cracking everyone’s teeth. Flour is hard to make. Wheat is difficult to grow. It is amazing that civilization was built on bread—what a remarkable accomplishment.

According to the opening verses of the Gospel of John, “in the beginning was the Word…and in him was life.” The world as we know it is transitory. It is just like bread, satisfying us for a while, and then we hunger again. Just before the Israelites enter a new life in the promised land, God reminds them—and us—that we do “not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

MOVING FORWARD: Try making bread this week. Pause at each step of the recipe and say a prayer of thanksgiving.

PRAY for the Diocese of Leeds (England)

Ps 37:1-18 * 37:19-42 | Exodus 20:1-21 | Colossians 1:24—2:7 | Matthew 4:1-11