12
In response, I would argue that the context of Matthew 6 does not support the
elimination of a future aspect to God's knowledge. Jesus' affirmation of the Father's knowledge
is meant to move his disciples to prayer, and, especially in Matt 6:32, to turn to prayer as an
antidote to worry and anxiety. But what are we not to worry about? Matt 6:25 and 31 specify
things like food, drink and clothing. But are these only present concerns? The parallel command
in Matt 6:34 ("Do not worry about tomorrow") puts a future orientation to the issue of worry vs.
prayer for the disciples of Jesus. Certainly we are not to worry but rather to pray about our
present needs and concerns (cf. Matt 6:11, "Give us today our daily bread"
27
). But this does not
eliminate the importance of our praying about our future needs. These too are to be entrusted to
God in prayer in obedience to Matt 6:34. All of this is to say that the needs the Father knows we
have (6:32) even before we ask him (6:8) include future needs. Thus the Father's knowledge of
our needs includes his foreknowledge.
But the question still must be asked. Does this foreknowledge of the Father
include free human decisions? A moment's reflection will indicate that our future needs are
shaped and determined by a whole host of free human decisions or potential free decisions.
Take, for example, the issue of whether I will have enough food to eat at some point in the
future. The answer to that question is in part determined by non-human factors like the weather
27
Blomberg argues that the phrase "daily bread" (to.n a;rton h`mw/n to.n evpiou,sion) is best
understood to mean "bread for tomorrow" in a non-eschatological sense (Matthew, 119). See
also Keener's discussion. He concludes, "Whether one asks for 'today's' bread or
'tomorrow's,' the prayer stresses that the requester needs it 'today'" (Matthew, 221).