Let It Rise: Sacred Ingredients for a Life of PrayerSample

Blessed by the Bread

We carry the Bread of Life, the presence of God, in us wherever we go. Digging a little into the Hebrew meaning of “send,” I found “begin,” and that’s where my new book, Let It Rise, started—“Begin with Bread!” “Send forth” reminds me of “cast your bread upon the waters” in Ecclesiastes 11:1. We cast our cares on God knowing He will take care of us. We cast our nets where God tells us to pray, love, and serve. We cast our bread by sharing His presence (and in my case, literal bread) to bless the receiver. What a picture of us sharing what God has put in our hands and sending it forth for Him to bless others!

Challah is so much more than a recipe—it’s a love offering to the Lord. It’s all about the Bread of Life (Jesus) and making a place for the presence of God in our every day. The anointing on this simple but profound act of baking bread has an ingredient that cannot be listed in a recipe. It can only be the Spirit of God capturing the hearts of men and women.

Early on I began doing what I call “porch drops.” I made challah for people who were sick, graduating, celebrating a birthday ... any occasion was enough reason. I would wrap it up and put it in a white bag with a label that says, “Begin with bread” and a little bit of tissue paper. Then I left it on front porches with a note. Being able to share the joy of challah bread has been such a bonus, and the testimonies of this movement that God started have a life of their own! God is inspiring people in the ways they can cast their bread upon the water, send forth the bread, and carry His presence. It’s a beautiful thing to watch unfold, and we are just at the beginning!

I would never want to limit this just to baking bread. Remember, more than a loaf of bread, we are carriers of the presence of God. We are watching God, in new and unusual ways, move people to share His presence. I’m thinking of praying groups that go to hospitals and sit in the parking lots or walk around the building. They pray that those inside would be touched by God, Jesus would reveal Himself to them, and they would be healed and made whole.

We are being charged to be the Church outside the walls. Just as the Church responded to the COVID shutdown through phone calls and prayers that deeply touched people’s lives and brought them God’s peace, we are being challenged in new ways to go into our schools, neighborhoods, and communities. God is giving us an opportunity to bloom in places we didn’t even know He was planting us! I pray that these testimonies of people being blessed by the physical kindness of bread shared will inspire you. There is no limit to the way God wants to use you and your gifts in others’ lives. You are a blessing!

Was this Plan helpful? We adapted this Plan from Let It Rise by Mary Jo Pierce. Find it at GatewayPublishing.com/rise