Be noticed by God

Matthew 6:1-24 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

² “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. ³ But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

⁵ “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. ⁶ But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. ⁷ “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. ⁸ So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. ⁹ “Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
¹⁰ ‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ ‘Give us this day our daily bread.
¹² ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’

¹⁴ For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

¹⁶ “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. ¹⁷ But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face ¹⁸ so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; ²¹ for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²² “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

In today’s text Jesus says:   “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.”      Don’t be mistaken, Jesus does not say we should not practice righteousness before men. He says that the motive for our practicing righteousness should not be to be noticed by men. In the same way, Jesus says:    “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”       Again it is not that we should never pray in public or in church, but the motive behind our public praying should be to communicate with God, not to be heard by men. It is said that what is done when no one is looking is an indication of integrity. Spiritual integrity is also based on what is done when no one is looking. Jeremiah 17:10 says:   "I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.”         God knows our hearts. He sees and hears what we do and say, even when others don’t. If what we say and do in the presence of men is for the purpose of impressing them, than the honor of men is all we can expect to receive. It is one thing to falsely be called a hypocrite by the world, but another much worse to be recognized as a hypocrite in God’s eyes.  

Jesus also says:   “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is 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 do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’”        We need to guard against, even this, “the Lord’s Prayer,” becoming merely a repetition of meaningless words. We are to pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)  In Luke 18 Jesus tells a parable about the reward for persistent petition and prayer. In verses 6-7 He says:   “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?”       So if we are to pray without ceasing, persistently, then our prayers must be much more than a repetition of words, even of Jesus words. Our prayers must be a heartfelt communication and entreaty to God the Father.  The prayer that Jesus taught us is not so much words to be repeated as it is a template for our hearts as we pray.

There are two important things to remember when we pray. First as Jesus says in today’s text:  “Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”     The omniscient God in heaven already knows our need. He sees all and knows all. God in fact, already has a plan to meet our need. Jeremiah 29:11 says:    “For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”      The second thing we should remember about our prayers is not something that Jesus said in today’s text, but rather what He said on the cross. John 19:30 says:    He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.     On the cross, all that Jesus came to do, everything we need, was completely provided for. Forgiveness from sin, redemption, reconciliation, restoration, are all finished in the cross. All of our provision, our healing, the abundant life Jesus promises in John 10:10, all of it is finished, complete in the heavenly realm in Christ, through the cross. When we pray as Jesus taught us to pray:  ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven,’ what we really are asking is that the realities of heaven, what is already finished and complete there, will be manifested here on earth. God knows what we need. God has a plan to give us what we need and He, through the finished work of the cross, has already provided everything we need, both in heaven and on earth, both now and forever.  

Today then, lift up your heart and your needs before the Father in heaven and pray this way: Our Father who is 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 do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.   Thank You that it is finished! Amen.