They have their reward : Again, those praying to be seen of men have their reward , and they should enjoy it in full — because that is all they will receive. There is no reward in heaven for such prayers. The idea is of a private place where we can impress no one except God. This reminds us that there are treasures waiting for us in our prayer closet. Jesus certainly did not prohibit public prayer, but our prayers should always be directed to God and not towards man. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. When you pray, do not use vain repetitions : The right kind of prayer does not use vain repetitions , which is any and all prayer which is mostly words and no meaning; all lips and no mind or heart.
One can pray long — but to the wrong god. The eloquence of prayer consists in the fervency of desire, and the simplicity of faith. When we try to impress God or worse, other people with our many words, we deny that God is a loving, yet holy Father. Instead, we should follow the counsel of Ecclesiastes God is in heaven, and you are on earth; therefore let your words be few. Many of the most prevailing prayers have been as short as they were strong.
We pray to commune with and appeal to a loving God who wants us to bring every need and worry before His throne.
Since Luke has much the same material, it is reasonable to believe that this was not the only time Jesus taught His disciples on this subject. It is not in turn to become a fetish. Reformers do not arise to break old fetters only in order to forge new ones.
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Our Father in heaven : The right kind of prayer comes to God as a Father in heaven.
It rightly recognizes whom we pray to, coming with a privileged title that demonstrates a privileged relationship. It is true that God is the mighty sovereign of the universe who created, governs, and will judge all things — but He is also to us a Father. He is our Father , but He is our Father in heaven. He is our Father , but our Father in heaven. The singular pronoun is absent. Man enters the presence of the Father, and then prays as one of the great family.
Hallowed be Your name. His name , kingdom and will have the top priority. Jesus wanted us to pray with the desire that the will of God would be done on earth as it is in heaven. When the bloody sweat stood on his face, and all the fear and trembling of a man in anguish were upon him, he did not dispute the decree of the Father, but bowed his head and cried.
One might rightly wonder why God wants us to pray that His will would be done, as if He were not able to accomplish it Himself.
God is more than able to do His will without our prayer or cooperation; yet He invites the participation of our prayers, our heart, and our actions in seeing His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one : The right kind of prayer will freely bring its own needs to God.
This will include needs for daily provision, forgiveness, and strength in the face of temptation. When Jesus spoke of bread , He meant real bread, as in the sense of daily provisions.
Some have thought it referred to Jesus Himself as the bread of life. Others have thought it speaks of the Word of God as our daily bread. God made man that he might live to his glory, and gave him a law to walk by; and if, when he does any thing that tends not to glorify God, he contracts a debt with Divine Justice.
Temptation literally means a test , not always a solicitation to do evil. God has promised to keep us from any testing that is greater than what we can handle 1 Corinthians But disciples, aware of their weakness, should not desire such testing, and should pray to be spared exposure to such situations in which they are vulnerable. If we truly pray, lead us not into temptation , it will be lived out in several ways.
It will mean:. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever : The right kind of prayer praises God and credits to Him the kingdom and the power and the glory. There is some dispute as to whether this doxology is in the original manuscript Matthew wrote or was added in later by a scribe.
Most modern Biblical scholars believe this line was a later addition. As the doxology is at least very ancient, and was in use among the Jews, as well as all the other petitions of this excellent prayer, it should not, in my opinion, be left out of the text, merely because some MSS. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you : Forgiveness is required for those who have been forgiven.
We are not given the luxury of holding on to our bitterness towards other people. If, on the other hand, we have an exaggerated view of the offences of others, it proves that we have minimized our own. Neither will your Father forgive your trespasses : Jesus has much more to say about forgiveness Matthew , , and Luke Here, the emphasis is on the imperative of forgiveness; on the fact that it is not an option. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting.
But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. When you fast : Jesus spoke to these fundamental practices of spiritual life in His kingdom: giving, praying, and now fasting.
Clearly, Jesus assumed that His followers would fast. During the Exile, the Jewish people expanded the practice of fasting Zechariah and Many pretend to take the true definition of a fast from Isa , and say that it means a fast from sin.
Photo by ideacreamanuelaPps via Flickr. To merely quote, "Seek ye first" is to minimize the meaning of the entire verse and passage of which those three words are such a small part. This complete verse is:. Matthew begins with the conjunction "but. It is the continuation of a conversation that started much earlier.
The conjunction joins Matthew to verses that start as early as Matthew and ends with Matthew which goes one verse beyond the short portion that is usually quoted. To seek something is to earnestly look for it with the expectation of finding it.
It is unfortunate that some people often do not seek God first. They seek everything else before they seek God. Jeremiah says:. The word "seek" in Matthew is a present imperative verb that means one is to pursue something and keep on pursuing it without stopping. There is a very important discussion in Matthew that deals with trusting God. Reasons are given not to worry about basic human needs for the body.
Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? In Verses , Matthew gives two examples of smaller things not to worry about because God takes care of them. After students respond, write the following principle on the board: If we seek first to build up the kingdom of God, then He will bless us with what He knows we need.
To help students understand this principle, invite a student to read aloud the following statement by President Ezra Taft Benson:. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities.
Consider sharing your testimony of the blessings that come from placing Heavenly Father first in our lives. Invite students to again briefly consider how they might be tempted to set their hearts on worldliness. Encourage them to set a goal to overcome this temptation by writing in their class notebooks or scripture study journals one way they will seek to place their Heavenly Father first in their lives.
These should all be done with a simple and sincere focus on our Father in Heaven or on the recipient. We might consider such questions as: When I give to the poor, do I hope to bring glory to God or to myself? When I serve the Lord, am I doing so to receive approval from the Lord or from men? When I pray in public, am I addressing God or those in the congregation?
New Testament Seminary Teacher Manual. Lesson Matthew 6. Introduction to the First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians. Introduction to the Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians. Introduction to the Epistle of Paul to the Philippians.
Introduction to the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians. Introduction to the First Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians. Introduction to the Second Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians. Introduction to the Second Epistle of Paul to Timothy.
Introduction to the Revelation of St. John the Divine. According to these verses why do some people perform alms? Instead, Jesus commands His followers to give to the needy as secretly as possible to avoid even the possibility of mixed motives Matthew —4. For the same reasons, Jesus has said that regular prayer to the Father should be done in secret, behind closed doors Matthew The Father will still hear and reward you, and He is the only audience that matters. This command should not be read as forbidding any kind of public praying in church or anywhere else.
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