Matthew 6 - Giving to the Poor and Prayer
6 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
- Some people only do things to be seen by men
- Unless your motivation is because of the love of Jesus Christ whatever you do is in vain
- There will be no reward in heaven
2 “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your [c]giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
- This is the proof that your only motivation is the love of God
- Don’t tell anyone else about it (but the Lord knows)
- God will reward you for every good deed you do which based on love not recognition
5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
- The first subject was giving
- This subject is praying
- Some people actually pray to be seen or seem pious but it doesn’t fool God
- When you pray, make sure its for no other purpose other than to talk to God
o Never to be seen by men
7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
- Repetitious words are something you say without giving any original thought
- It likes repeating the rosery
- Prayer should be heart felt communication from the heart directly to the Father
- Unless your prayer is from the heart and real, it will have zero impact
9 “Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
- The first thing to do when praying is to remember who God is…
o Our Father who is heaven
o He is God Almighty, the Father of everything that has breath and life
o And He is in heaven looking down upon everything going on upon earth
- Hallowed by Your name
o The name of God is Holy
o When you call upon God in Jesus name there is serious power
o Jesus Christ is the only name under heaven whereby a man may be saved
o We should have great respect, reverence and awe in His name
- So you start your prayer remembering God’s position, power & holy name!
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