Sentinel Watch April 25, 2011 Issue

Addressing rising food prices with ‘Daily Bread’

Tanner Johnsrud

A recent article in The Christian Science Monitor reported, “The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) food price index hit an all-time high in December. This sparked concern that high prices just prior to the global recession could reflect longer-term structural changes in supply” (“Rising global food prices squeeze the world’s poor,” 2/10/2011, http://bit.ly/gfjzqE). Analysts warn that economic, climatic, and political circumstances are combining to raise food prices in many parts of the world. Many attribute the recent political changes in the Middle East and North Africa to dramatically rising food prices in those areas. Maybe you have experienced a taste of those rising prices at the supermarket. The situation can seem overwhelming. But we can pray about these forecasts, and expect our prayers will reveal solutions that will help the world to be fed.

Christ Jesus gives the answer to this problem in the Lord’s Prayer, which Mary Baker Eddy wrote “covers all human needs” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 16). Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11). He taught that God, our loving Father-Mother, tenderly cares for us and provides us with all good. The Bible explains how God gave the ideas to Abraham, Joseph, Elisha, and so many others to overcome the famines they faced.

But are we praying for infinite Spirit to give us material sustenance, or did Jesus mean something higher?

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