We've become so dependent on human safety nets that I'm not sure we even turn to the Lord and call His name as a nation.

A writer friend of mine penned a piece of disturbing news in which he revealed that a fairly large segment of our society expects to rest on bankruptcy laws to pay for catastrophic illness or accident. When presented with the kinds of medical bills I faced after my wife's death, they file and force the hospitals or the public to foot the bill.

He says even one of his friends, a wealthy attorney, does the same thing. He smirks at his own cleverness, reminding the writer that he learned it from his own clients and plans to do the same thing if he becomes very ill.

Now, in all fairness, I had and still maintain a healthcare plan through my employer, but facing an enormous hospital bill of frightening proportions, the first thing I did was to get on my knees. My prayer went something like this, "Lord, I haven't a clue how I will pay for this, even with the insurance we had going in! There are no provisions for anything but a percentage of the bill being paid! Help!!" I then called the front office of our medical management company and told them of the monumental invoice I had received.

"Fax us the statement you have and let us deal with the hospital. They had no right to send it to you!" Immeasureably relieved, I sent off the data to my rep and never heard from the medical accounting office of the facility again! I don't care how God and the management people dealt with it, but I never paid one cent from my own money!

I'm not saying that every family's burdens will be handled in similar fashion. What I am suggesting is that we copy the pattern of people in the Bible and present our needs to the Lord first. Calling on His name for sustenance should be our DAILY pattern, not our panic move! Lord Jesus, give us this day, our daily bread.....