Giving, Praying and Self-denial (Matthew 6:1-18)

Having described some aspects of the righteousness that is superior to that of the scribes and Pharisees Jesus now moves on to deal with the practice of three features of righteous living among the Jews – almsgiving, prayer and fasting. They were ones with which the Jews would have been familiar because they would have observed the Pharisees doing them.

Of course, it is important to stress that Jesus here is referring to personal, voluntary expressions of those practices. There were occasions when public expressions were mandated and on those occasions it would be obvious that people were engaging in them.

The Saviour points out a basic principle connected to personal acts of discipleship. If we engage in them in order to get a reputation among men, we will succeed in doing so. On the other hand, if we engage in them to receive blessings from God, we will succeed in doing so. The problem is that we cannot have both.

But Jesus does more that point out that principle. He also says that his disciples should be afraid of doing them like the Pharisees. His warning begins with the word, beware, and that word is only used when there is danger around. To have the attitude of the Pharisees means we are in trouble.

The presence of the Father

Jesus focuses on either a love of secrecy or a love of publicity. The Pharisees revealed to their audiences when they gave to the needy, when they prayed and when they fasted. The audience admired them for their devotion, which was what they wanted. Instead, Jesus’ disciples engage in their religious duties in the presence of the Father.

What is the presence of the Father? Jesus is not referring to God’s omnipresence, nor is he referring to God’s family presence such as occurs when his people do something together. Instead he is describing what takes place between an individual and his God. Some people have a literal place where they like to pray, and obviously that is helpful. Yet this secret place can be anywhere. What marks it is that the Father is there and is pleased with what he sees.

Giving is an overflow of fellowship

It is possible to give to God’s cause in a mechanical way. The picture is of a disciple who spends time with God and then comes across someone in need and gives him something. I suspect that Jesus is indicating that when a disciple gives in this manner his giving will reflect the God who he has been with. Therefore, he will give graciously and persistently.

Fasting is an opportunity for joy

When Jesus tells his disciple that he should anoint his head and wash his face he does not mean that his disciple engages in a form of pretence. Instead he is instructing his disciple that his outward look should reveal his heart. People who see him should see his joy, but they should not discover that he is doing without legitimate things in order to enjoy the presence of God.

Prayer is speaking with God

Jesus mentions two wrong ways to pray. These are the prayers of the Pharisees and the prayers of the pagans. Usually, a person would say that there is nothing similar between those options, but Jesus points out that neither method is true prayer. So what is prayer?

Prayer is special, so special that the petitioner makes sure that there is a suitable private place in which it can take place. The choice of place is not made by God, but the disciple must find this place of privacy.

Prayer is expressed simply. Sometimes, people only pray when they are in a desperate situation. When that happens, they may use lots of words, but if you listen to them it is obvious that they don’t know anything about the God to whom they are praying. In contrast, the disciple of Jesus knows that prayer is not about giving God information and therefore prays straightforwardly.

Prayer contains five aspects

Then Jesus provides his disciples with a prayer that has five concerns and these are the details that Jesus wants his disciples to mention in their personal prayers. The concerns are praise of God, progress of his kingdom, provision of daily needs, pardon for our sins and protection from the devil.

The first feature in prayer should be praise of God, and here Jesus mentions three areas of praise. One is God’s name – Father. How did he become our Father? He did so by adopting us into his family after we had trusted in Jesus. Another is his location – heaven. Heaven is the Father’s house, home. There in the secret place with the Father we are reminded of his real abode. And there is his character – holiness. This implies that the petitioner has spent some time thinking about what God is like – he is perfect and the disciple delights in that the Father will always be so. And the Father who sees in secret is pleased.

Second, in true prayer, there should be a longing for progress in the spread of the Father’s kingdom. Obviously, this only happens through the gospel being embraced. Therefore, a person who prays is passionate for conversions. He desires that sinners will become obedient saints. When he mentions this feature in prayer, he may wish to speak about items he has read which indicate that the gospel is being blessed. Or he may speak about places where the gospel is in decline. He will probably do both. In doing so, he pleads with God to work in this way. And the Father who sees in secret is pleased.

Third, the disciple prays that God would meet his needs for the day. This petition suggests that the prayer should be made in the morning, although it is the case that we can pray more than once. One of the psalmists prayed seven times a day. Again, this petition implies some form of preparation regarding what is liable to happen that day, and then the items are mentioned to God.

Fourth, a true disciple asks for pardon and is marked by a forgiving spirit. Those two details go together because Jesus points out in verses 14 and 15 that the Father only forgives those who have forgiven those who have offended them. Of course, when someone offends us, our response should be to remind ourselves that we have offended God far more often. It is obvious that one cannot go into the secret place with an unforgiving attitude.

Fifth, a disciple when he prays remembers that he is in the middle of a spiritual battle. Every day, he is going to face some form of interaction from the enemy of his soul. There are two options facing him – go through it and the conflict gets harder or be delivered from it. Jesus depicts the Father here as a Shepherd or as a Guide. Sometimes those individuals took their sheep or their followers over rough terrain, maybe close to dangerous spots. The difference between that kind of situation and the situation Christ’s people face is that they are in dangerous territory all the way. There is nothing that they face that cannot be turned into a temptation by the devil, and sometimes he will, but we don’t know when he will. So they ask God to protect them all the time.

Conclusion

How the disciples of Jesus treat these three disciplines will reveal what their priority is. Jesus says that the priority of each of the disciplines is to meet with God in each of them. They are not activities that we must do before we meet God. Rather we meet him as we do them.

The petitions in our prayers reveal our longings. Jesus mentions at least five longings that should mark our prayers – praise, progress, provision, pardon and protection. The Father’s answers are the rewards that he gives in his grace.