Do Good Secretly
“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that you may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. “But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, “that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
Jesus is telling us to do all our good works toward others in secret. Why? It is because most like to do charitable works to impress others. It becomes their motive rather than doing the good itself for other people. We should be doing good things for others to benefit these people. In Jesus’ day, as in our day, some people love to make a show of their piety. They would do something to bring attention to themselves, like blowing a trumpet, to let others know how good they were.
Jesus is saying that people like this are hypocrites. Their hearts are not right. He said they have their reward. Since they are interested in pleasing men rather than pleasing God their only reward for doing their alms is the praise of men. They forfeit the glory and honor from the one who counts, their Father in heaven. To prove our sincerity and proper motives, Christ tells us to do all our good deeds in secret. This would prove that our motives are right and our desire is to please our Father who sees and knows all things. He will reward us openly for these secret deeds of goodness.
How Should We Pray?
“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
Prayer, along with the study of the Scriptures, demonstrates our faith in God. We must have conversation with our Lord to grow in our knowledge of Him. Conversation demands both listening and talking. Reading the Bible is how we listen to God. In the Bible, He gives us all the information we need to live a life that brings glory and honor to Him. He gives us only the information that is beneficial to us. Praying to God is our talking to Him. It should consist of our showing Him adoration for His holiness, glory, and greatness. We should also use prayer to confess our sins to Him and ask for forgiveness. Next, we should thank Him for all that He has done for us in taking care of all our needs. Finally, we should ask Him for the things we need.
Jesus tells us that when we pray we should not be like hypocrites. Praying to God is an honor and privilege. It is beyond our finite understanding how God can hear, understand, and answer multi-millions of prayers each hour, yet He does. We should not pray to impress others with our eloquence as some did by praying in the synagogues or on the street corners to be seen of men. As was the case in doing good works, our praying should be done in secrecy, where the door is shut and no one knows what we are doing. Our Father who is there with us in that secret place, hears our prayers and will reward us openly. We will lose that reward if our motive is to bring honor to ourselves rather than honoring God.
Vain Repetitions
7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
Our Lord tells us not to pray using vain repetitions as the heathen do. What are vain repetitions? God does not want us to keep repeating the same words or phrases as the uncivilized do. These words become meaningless because they don’t come from the heart. They are empty words. We are wasting God’s time and our own time by praying like that. How long would you listen to someone if they just kept repeating the same words or phrases?
Be very careful about praying lying in bed with the lights out right before you go to sleep. You will often get so sleepy you will not be able to keep your mind on your praying, will often repeat yourself, and then fall asleep in the middle of your prayer. This is the height of rudeness to our Lord. How would you feel if someone was talking to you and then fell asleep in the middle of their conversation? It would convey to you that you were not very important. A good time to pray is early in the morning. You are rested from a night’s sleep and you can start your day worshiping the Lord.
We should not pray using meaningless repetitions because our Father knows the things we need even before we ask Him. It is a high and great privilege to pray to God. Let us not demean the act of prayer with meaningless words that show our lack of sincerity.
The Lord’s Prayer
9 In this manner, therefore, pray:
Jesus gives us a model prayer that we can pray from time to time. Our prayers should not be limited to just this one. When we pray, we must make sure we think about the meaning of each word.
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
In this prayer, we need to recognize we are addressing God who is our Father in heaven. This is the Being who deserves our greatest respect, honor, adoration, and worship. He rules from heaven; however, He is omnipresent or present everywhere at once. He can be in heaven, on Earth, and even in hell at the same time and knows what is going on in all creation at once. This is so difficult for us with finite minds to understand the infinite God. Our minds are limited to time and space however, with God there are no limits.
We are to hallow the name of God. He is so holy, righteous and pure, even to speak His name requires great responsibility and restraint. What does hallow mean? It means that His name is to be set apart for holy uses only. We must use it with the greatest respect and honor. So many people flippantly use the name of God and Jesus. They just blurt it out in common usage. “O my God” is used by so many people just for emphasis. Some even blaspheme the name of God and Jesus in angry curse words. This is a terrible sin. We should limit the use of God’s name and only use it when appropriate such as in our prayers or when we attend worship services or bible studies.
How important is it to keep sacred the name of God? It is the third of the ten commandments given to Moses by God.
7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. (Ex. 20:7)
10 Your kingdom come.
When we think of this phrase we often think it is referring to a coming kingdom. However, I believe it is referring to the kingdom that has now come. When Jesus was on Earth He cast out demons. This showed that the kingdom had already come.
Jesus said, 28 “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Matt. 12:28.)
Some think that the coming kingdom of God will come with signs and wonders from heaven. What did Jesus say?
“Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21)
The coming kingdom was a spiritual kingdom within all Christians who struggle against sin and the demonic hosts. God the Holy Spirit resides within us to be our helper to be victorious over sin and Satan.
Jesus left this world to be seated on the right hand of God. It is from heaven that He rules over His kingdom.
19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. (Mark 16:19)
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Sometimes people pray to God for His will to be done. That is a meaningless thing to ask for. Is our prayer to God asking that His will be done somehow going to make God stronger so that He can do what He wills or wants? No. God is omnipotent which means He is all-powerful. He does whatever He pleases in heaven and on Earth. No one can restrain Him from doing what He wants to do.
For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
And His kingdom is from generation to generation.
35 All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing;
He does according to His will in the army of heaven
And among the inhabitants of the earth.
No one can restrain His hand
Or say to Him, “What have You done?” (Daniel 4:34-35)
What is being said here is that God’s will or what He wants to happen will happen not might happen. It isn’t up to luck because there is no such thing as luck or chance. It is all determined by God who is the sovereign King and Ruler over all creation. Is our God a weak God or an all-powerful God who controls world events and the destiny of men? To ask the question is to answer it.
God has made the following promise to us:
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Rom. 8:28)
What is being said here is that everything that happens in the life of the Christian will be worked out for our good. Even the bad things that happen to us will be for our good. We may not know how until we see Jesus but we know that God never breaks a promise to us. This can only be accomplished by a God who sovereignly planned all the details of our life in eternity past.
Yes, His will is going to be accomplished on Earth, in heaven, and in all His creation! We don’t have to worry about the world spinning out of control. Even though it seems like things are going bad in this world, God is always in control and will always bring about His will. Have no fear. Satan, his league of demons, sin, death, hell, and the unsaved will never triumph over God. The Lord will defeat them all and cast them into the lake of fire.
10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Rev. 20:10)
14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:14-15)
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Jesus is telling us to ask our Father to give us our daily bread. We need food for our daily nourishment and existence. We are not to worry about food for if our Father in heaven will feed the birds of the air, He will certainly feed us as He cares more for us. We also see in this phrase that our real daily bread is being spiritually nourished by reading the Word of God each day. Jesus is the “bread of life.” He is also the “Word.” Jesus told Satan the following in the wilderness temptation:
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” (Matt. 4:4)
Let us pray for the daily nourishment of Christ who sacrificed His flesh and blood for our pardon on the cross.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
We must ask God to forgive us of our debts, also translated transgressions or sins. Jesus has the power and authority to forgive our sins. We need to repent of our sins and ask the Father for forgiveness. We are to also forgive others who sin against us.
When we sin against others we are also sinning against God. For forgiveness to take place we must first seek forgiveness from those we have sinned against. Then we must ask the Lord to forgive us. No other human being has the power to forgive sins. When Jesus saw the faith of the paralyzed man brought to him for healing He told him his sins were forgiven. When the religious leaders there heard His comment, they thought He committed blasphemy or verbal sin against God.
And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Luke 5:21)
These religious leaders were wrong on part of their thinking and right on the other. They were wrong because Jesus was not committing blasphemy. Jesus can forgive the sins of people. They were right that only God can forgive sins. Jesus is God.
13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Here Jesus wants us to ask the Father to not lead us into temptation. God will not tempt us
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. (James 1:13)
We are weak and easy prey to Satan and our own fleshly appetites. We need God to protect us and give us strength to fight against the evil one. The main goal of the devil before he is cast into the lake of fire is to disrupt the plan of God and bring as many people to the lake of fire as he possibly can. Our fight is not so much against other people but against the unseen demonic forces all around us.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Eph. 6:12)
If our eyes were opened to be able to see all the demons and their activities in this world, we would be terrified. God graciously prevents us from seeing these evil beings.
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
As we come to the end of the Lord’s Prayer, we are to give God all the glory He deserves. Jesus is the King of kings and rules His eternal kingdom. We need to praise Jesus for He has all the power of God’s might in His hands. Jesus is the Creator of all things. He also has all the glory of the universe in Him. We should praise Him as the almighty King who is truly glorious beyond our comprehension and reigns forever. The Bible says the following about Jesus Christ:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. (Col. 1:15-18)
15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (Rev. 11:15)
14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Jesus returns to the subject of forgiveness. If we want God to forgive us of our sins, we must be willing to forgive others of their sins against us. This is true even if they don’t ask for our forgiveness. As stated earlier, Jesus asked His Father to forgive those who were crucifying Him even though they had not asked for forgiveness. They didn’t realize they were crucifying God the Son.
34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
Fasting
16 “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 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.
Why do people fast? Why is that a form of worship? Fasting demonstrates our faith. It shows God that we are so serious about loving, trusting, and obeying Him, we would even deny our own bodily needs to show our faith in Him. One time when the disciples could not cast out a demon, Jesus told them in that case fasting was necessary along with faith and prayer. Fasting adds strength and power to our requests to God. Fasting pleases God if we do it with the right motive. Fasting, like giving our financial gifts, is a sweet-smelling sacrifice to Him.
Jesus wants us to fast secretly. He wants us to wash our face and make it look like we are not fasting. The hypocrites make their faces look like they are ill to show off their fasting. He tells us to do this in secret so we will be rewarded openly by our Father who sees in secret. Let us not lose our reward by showing off our good works before men. The only reward we will have is the praise of men, not of God.
What Do You Treasure?
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
What are the most important things in your life? Is it having a high paying job, a big house, expensive cars and large boats? Is it having a bunch of property or wearing expensive clothes? These things are temporary. Property will wear out. These tangible things may be valuable in this life but they have no eternal value at all. They are subject to theft and wearing out. When we are on our death bed we will know that these things were of little importance. What is really important is how we served our Lord and others in this life.
Jesus tells us to lay up treasures in heaven where no one can steal them and where they never wear out. How do we do this? Jesus wants us to have faith in Him, study His Word, be active in prayer, attend church regularly, give our financial offerings to His ministries and the poor, and many other things we can do to advance His kingdom and lay up heavenly rewards. We should do these things privately and not to be seen of men. Where are our priorities in life? They need to be spiritual and not worldly, for the world will pass away but what we do for Christ will never pass away. Wherever our treasure is, so will be our heart. If our desire is for worldly things, then everything else will take a back seat including God.
The Lamp of the Body
22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
Jesus tells us that the lamp or light of the body are the eyes. If our eyes are good, then our whole body will be full of light. If we focus in life about good and wholesome things than our lives will reflect that in righteous living. However, if we focus or put before our eyes evil things our whole body will be full of darkness and that darkness will be great. Let us not commit the sins of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Let us follow and obey Jesus who is the “light of the world!”
12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
Which Master Do Your Serve?
24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
What is mammon? It refers to material wealth or possessions. Jesus is saying that we cannot serve both God and earthly wealth. We will either love the wealth and hate God or love God and hate the wealth. Which is it for you? Who is your God or master? Is it God or wealth? This is not to say that being wealthy is a sin or somehow wrong. As Christians, we can use our wealth for the benefit of others and to advance the kingdom of Christ. We must make a choice because we cannot serve them both. If we choose material things, then those things become our idols. We end up worshiping them instead of God.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1 Tim. 6:10)
This verse tells us that the love of money and material possessions is the root cause of all kinds of evil. It causes us to be greedy. This becomes an appetite that is never satisfied. We may lie, steal, and cheat to get more money and possessions.
This verse does not say having money is the root of all kinds of evil. It is the love of money that is the problem. Let us be content with the blessings God has given us.
11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: (Phil. 4:11)
Now godliness with contentment is great gain. (1Tim. 6:6)
Worry
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Jesus tells us not to worry about things. This is very hard for us not to do. It is our natural inclination to be anxious about all sorts of things. Jesus tells us not to worry about what we are going to eat or drink or what clothing we have. He tells us not to worry about life in general. God takes care of feeding the birds, and He makes the lilies of the field more beautiful than King Solomon was in all his earthly splendor. If He makes beautiful the grass of the field which will soon wither away, how much more will He take care of us? Worrying never helps anything. It damages our bodies and accomplishes nothing. It cannot add an inch to our height. The key problem with worrying is that it shows that we don’t have faith in God to help us with our problems. He already knows what our needs are. Rather than worry He wants us to go to Him in prayer and ask for His help. This shows our faith in Him and without faith it is impossible to please God.
As Christians, we should not seek after worldly pleasures or things. Instead, we should seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and He will then take care of all our earthly needs. This means believing in Jesus Christ, following Him, and keeping His commandments. We should not worry about things in the future because we can’t control the future, only God can. Instead we should focus on the present and living for Christ. We should love God and believe that He will work out all things for our good according to His divine promise.
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Rom. 8:29)