Matthew 6, a visual study of the three secret practices, the Lord's Prayer, and the two reorientations from the Sermon on the Mount, from The Lampstand Project.
Seen in secret.
Three practices that should be done where only the Father sees. The prayer he taught his disciples. And two warnings about what we treasure and what we worry about.
"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."Matthew 6:33 ESV
Chapter six continues the Sermon on the Mount, with a single theme running through it: reorient yourself from horizontal to vertical. From what people see, to what the Father sees. From what wears out, to what lasts. From what tomorrow might bring, to who feeds the birds and clothes the lilies.
From horizontal to vertical.
The chapter has two halves. The first asks where we look for reward; the second asks where we look for security. Tap any numbered marker to read its section below.
Tap any numbered marker to read its section
Three practices, done in secret.
Giving, prayer, and fasting. Each presented the same way: do not do it like the hypocrites, who already have their reward in the praise of others. Do it instead where only the Father sees. He will reward you.
"When you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do."
"Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret."
"And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
"They love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others."
"When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret."
"Your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
"Do not look gloomy, as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others."
"When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret."
"Your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
Matthew 6:1-18 ESV
The Lord's Prayer.
In the middle of his teaching on prayer, Jesus gives the disciples a model. Six petitions in all. Three about God; three about us. It has been prayed by his followers ever since.
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 also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
The prayer has two halves. The first three petitions are about God: his name, his kingdom, his will. The second three are about us: our bread, our forgiveness, our deliverance. The order matters. We pray for God's glory before we pray for our needs. Even when we pray for ourselves, we pray as people whose first concern is the Father.
Two reorientations.
After teaching how to give, pray, and fast, Jesus turns to two deeper questions: what we treasure, and what we trust. Both are about where our eyes are fixed.
On treasure.
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven... For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Jesus describes two storehouses: one that decays, one that does not. We choose which we are filling. And our heart follows what we store.
"You cannot serve God and money."
Matthew 6:19-24 ESV
On anxiety.
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on... Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" The argument is from lesser to greater. If the Father feeds birds and clothes wildflowers, of course he will care for those he has called his children.
"Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you."
Matthew 6:25-34 ESV
Looking beyond.
The genealogy looked back. The geography looked out. The river looked up. The wilderness looked ahead. The mountain looked inward. Chapter six looks beyond. Beyond what people see. Beyond what wears out. Beyond what tomorrow might bring. To the Father who already sees, already provides, already knows what we need before we ask.
The three practices teach us to give, pray, and fast for an audience of one. The prayer gives us a pattern that puts God first and us second. And the two reorientations free us from the two great masters of the human heart, money and anxiety, by lifting our eyes to a Father who knows.
"Your Father knows what you need before you ask him."Matthew 6:8 ESV
All scripture quoted from the English Standard Version. A study from The Lampstand Project.