Matthew 6: Our Relationship with God

v.1 “Alms” here means “righteous acts.” Jesus often taught by stating a principle, then giving examples to make His intent clear. The gift of eternal life is the foundation upon which our righteous works are based. Our motivation for the works we have done will be tested. (II Corinthians 5:10: I Corinthians 3:13-15) There are three classifications of righteous acts: (1) giving (2) prayer (3) denial of the flesh Our giving concerns how we relate to others, our prayer concerns our relation with God, and tasting concerns our relation to ourselves. Our priorities must be ordered so that the spiritual things we want to do take precedence over physical things. God knows our physical needs and will see that they are met, if we put Him first.

Jesus reminds us that we should be constantly conscious of God’s presence, for He observes and evaluates all of our actions. (Acts 17:28; Hebrews 4:13)

We should guard ourselves against pride. The pride of mind causes us to think more highly of ourselves than we should. It makes us think we’re better than others. Pride of will cause us to be discontent with our circumstances, thinking we deserve more than we have. It causes us to strive and be contentious.

We “take heed” by: (1) self-examination (2) realizing the disastrous consequences of pride (3) remembering Christ’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane when He submitted His will to the Father’s.

v.2 Any kind of giving that draws attention to the giver and draws the praise of men is the wrong kind of giving.

v.3-4 The right kind of giving is a private matter between God and each individual.

v.5 Many people think that the purpose of prayer is to get our will done and to persuade God to give us what we want. The true purpose of prayer is to get God’s will done when we ask according to His will. (I John 5:14)

v.6 “Closet” here means “secret place.” Jesus had a secret place where He went to talk with God. It is important that we also find a quiet place so we will not be distracted from listening to God. We shut the door on the noise outside, and we shut ourselves in with God. We don’t have to pray with closed eyes, folded hands, or kneeling down. Prayer isn’t a position of the body. Some people pray better when they are walking around.

v.7 We need to avoid repeating phrases or words, because it makes our minds wander during prayer. God wants our full attention when we converse with Him. We don’t need to use a certain tone of voice for prayer nor do we need to use formal King James English. A normal conversational tone and plain language are fine. Speaking aloud, though not loudly, helps us to keep our minds on what we are saying. It also helps us to verbalize our feelings.

v.8 When we pray, we’re coming into the presence of the Creator of the universe. We should be conscious of His power to do anything that we might ask. Faith is vital for effective prayer. We can make our requests to God boldly. for we are His beloved children, and He delights in giving to us. The name Jehovah in Hebrew is a verb which means, “The Becoming One.” God becomes whatever we need Him to be. One of the keys to Abraham’s faith was that he believed that God would do what He had promised to do. (Romans 4:21) We need to remind ourselves of who God is when we approach Him with our requests, so that we ask in faith. (Ephesians 3:20)

v.9 All the elements of true prayer are found in this prayer that Jesus gave us to model our prayers on. Prayer has three forms: (1) Adoration, worship, communion. We can praise God for what He is and for what He has done. We can talk to Him anytime we need or want to—as we go about our duties, eat our meals, drive our cars, or whatever we’re doing. (I Thessalonians 5:17) (2) Petition. We have to receive from God ourselves before we can give to others. He wants us to bring our needs to Him. People who refuse to ask God for the things they need are being foolish, not noble or spiritual. (3) Intercession. We usually begin to pray for loved ones after ourselves and then move to people further from us. We can touch the world for God through prayer.

v.10 People who choose to shine in this world have their reward here in the recognition of men. Those who choose a heavenly reward will shine forever. (Daniel 12:3)

The first prerequisite of prayer is relationship. We have fellowship with God through the work of Jesus for us and in us. (Isaiah 59:1-2;I John 1:7) The name of Jesus gives us access to God and relation with Him. (John 14:13,16:24)

v.11 The first petition Jesus made was for our physical needs. He asked for bread for one day at a time only. God wants us to trust Him to supply what we need each day, rather than relying on what we have set aside.

v.12 Jesus asked God to forgive our huge debt to Him. (I John 5:15) God wants us to have a forgiving attitude toward others. Jesus often emphasized the importance of forgiveness in His parables. (Matthew 18:21-35) This verse is a petition for the needs of our souls.

v.13 This third petition concerns our spiritual needs. The phrase “Lead us not into temptation” does not indicate that God tempts us to do evil. (James 1:13) God leads us into tests to show us that our strength is in Him. (Genesis 22:1-19) The request here is that God will not allow us to get into areas where He knows our weakness would cause us to stumble and fall. Tests and trials are important in our walk with God. They are necessary for our spiritual growth. (James 1:2-3; Romans 5:3) Jesus doesn’t ask that we not be tested, but that God would overrule us when we try to take on a spiritual challenge that He knows we aren’t ready for. Our petitions are often selfishly motivated. We should be aware of why we ask for something to better understand why God grants some of our requests and denies others. (James 4:3) Prayer is the greatest outlet for spiritual power that we can have.

The outlets of spiritual power are: (1) the witness of our godly lives (2) our words (3) our service for God (4) our money invested in God’s Kingdom (5) our prayers The essence of prayers is warfare. Intercessory prayer puts us on the offensive in spiritual battles. Our prayers become a spiritual force that fight the evil forces of Satan. Satan blinds men’s eyes and dulls their perception of spiritual things. We can free people from their bondage to evil through prayer. (Ephesians 6:11-18) Our prayers can travel any distance to do battle for God anywhere in the world. Prayer is often the deciding factor in spiritual battles. The tragedy is that the enormous power available to us through prayer is so often wasted because we do not pray.

v.16-18 Some people are so concerned with themselves that even in their worship of God they seek to draw attention to themselves. Our motivation in doing righteous acts should be pure, so that God receives the glory for our good works. (Matthew 5:16) The motivation for any spiritual activity should be prompted by our relationship with God. He should be central in our minds as we go about our service to Him. If we would feed our spirits as much as we feed our flesh, we would be much better off. Fasting is an attempt to force the flesh to be in submission to the spirit.

v.19-20 In the previous verses Jesus was teaching that our spiritual activities should be done with the thought of pleasing God. In the rest of Chapter 6 Jesus teaches that our physical activities should also be done with God uppermost in our minds.

The “treasure” Jesus refers to here isn’t necessarily money. An earthly treasure can be a career, a home, a car, or anything that hinders our walk with God. Jesus wants us to realize that material things are of transitory value while spiritual things are of eternal value. Therefore, we should esteem spiritual things above everything else. (I Peter 1:4)

v.21 It is so difficult to know our own hearts. (Jeremiah 17:9; Psalm 139:23-24) If we examine our treasures, we’ll find out whether our hearts are in spiritual things or in earthly things. How do we lay up treasures in heaven? Jesus commended the wisdom of the man who planned for his future by using his position to his advantage. (Luke 16:1- 12) In the same way, we should use what God has entrusted to us and the places He puts us in for spiritual enrichment rather than for temporal gain. We’re not to put our trust and security in our earthly possessions, for they’re so easily lost. Instead, we’re to trust God to provide for all our needs while we devote ourselves to the things of the world where we’ll spend eternity.

v.22-23 Our eyes are the windowpanes of our bodies. If the glass through which we look is clean, then we see the world as it is. If the glass is distorted or dirty, then our view of the world will be distorted. “Single” here means “generous, liberal” (Psalm 86:11; Colossians 3:22). “Evil” here means “stingy, grudging, greedy.” We should examine ourselves to determine whether we’re generous or stingy, not only with material things but also in our attitudes. If we’re generous, then we’re filled with light, but if we’re stingy, then we’re filled with darkness.

v.24 No man can be a slave to two lords.

“Mammon” originally was a person to whom one entrusted one’s funds. The meaning changed to become a trust in the power that money provides. One of the pagan gods of Old Testament times was called Mammon.

A slave had no rights and couldn’t own anything. He had no time of his own, for he was always on call for his master. His master could work him 20 hours a day or have the slave beaten if he chose to. We cannot be a slave to God and also be devoted to material things. There isn’t enough time to serve both.

v.25 “Take no thought” here means “take no anxious thought” or “don’t be worried”. Jesus isn’t suggesting that we do nothing to meet our physical needs, but that we keep our needs in the proper perspective, and trust God rather than worrying about them. We should, “do our best and commit the rest.”

v.26-30 Jesus gives two examples to demonstrate the futility of worrying.

A “cubit” is about eighteen inches.

People have often attended church more conscious of fashions than conscious of God. Since God so beautifully clothes the grass, which soon withers and is burned, then He will certainly clothe us. The birds and the grass are God’s creations, but we’re His children.

v.31-32 “Gentiles” here refers to the heathen.

God is aware of our needs. He wants us to trust Him and put Him first in our lives, rather than worrying about how we’ll provide for our fleshly needs. When the flesh rules over us, it’s a tyrant. It causes us to live in a constant state of lust and frustration. Even if we glut our flesh, it always demands more.

v.33 People in the world are controlled by the flesh and are always seeking to satisfy its demands. When we’re born again, we give the spirit the priority in our lives and put our flesh and emotions under the control of the spirit. We establish our priorities by: (1) Deciding what is most important to us. For the Christian, the primary concern should be his relationship with God (Philippians 3:10). (2) Reordering our time, energies, and thoughts around what is most important to us. (a) We need to examine our lives to see where we’re wasting time that could be spent developing our relationship with God. Our thoughts and energies are so often concentrated on the material and physical concerns of life (I Timothy 6:8). (b) We can see where our hearts really are when we carefully consider where we have been expending our time and energies. (c) We need to recognize our need of God’s power and righteousness to help us organize our lives around spiritual things. (d) The result of properly adjusted priorities is that God will take care of all our physical needs.

v.34 Jesus teaches us to live one day at a time without worrying about tomorrow. (Deuteronomy 33:25)