This, then, is how you should pray.
—Matthew 6:9
The prayer Jesus taught his disciples observes three needs in our lives and implies three points of time in which they occur.
It asks for bread: “Give us today our daily bread.” It is a request for the provision of life’s essentials, laying the need of the present [“today”] before God.
It asks for forgiveness: “Forgive us our sins.” It is a request for pardon of transgressions, bringing the past to the throne of mercy.
It asks for rescue from temptation: “Don’t let us yield to temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” It is a request for divine protection in times of weakness, bringing the future into God’s safekeeping.
The prayer commits present, past, and future to the God of provision, pardon, and protection.
God covers all your needs:
past, present, and future.