Anesti Ministries

v1 In Matthew 5:16 we are called to let our light shine before others. But Jesus warns us not to practice our faith in a hypocritical way. Jesus highlights three areas, giving, prayer and fasting, where must constantly check our hearts to ensure that we are not doing them to seek people’s praise.

v2-4 Our generosity should point people to God. Being loud about our giving draws attention to ourselves but giving quietly draws attention to God. When people see that we give without any personal agenda, God gets the glory.

v5-6 Prayer is a time to give God our undivided attention. Jesus was not against public prayer but standing in public to pray. It was a common practice for devout Jews to stop their activities and pray at regular intervals during the day (Daniel 6:10). Jesus teaches us to pray privately so that we can focus on God and not draw attention to ourselves.

v7-15 God answers prayers because of our relationship with Him. Prayers are not more “powerful” just because the person praying uses more words, better vocabulary or is more eloquent while praying.

The Lord’s Prayer

• Our relationship with God as our Father is the basis on which God answers prayers. All of us have an earthly father and a perfect Heavenly Father who watches over us.
• God’s name is Holy and set apart. God’s plans and ways are far above our own.
• It is from this posture of recognising God’s Holiness that we surrender our wills to do His will. The way God’s Kingdom is established on the earth is through Christ reigning as Lord in our hearts. As Christians, we should desire for more people to enter the Kingdom of God.
• In the same way that Israel ate manna from heaven while they were in the wilderness (Exodus 16:35), God invites us to depend on Him for our daily physical needs.
• We are to remind ourselves constantly of God’s forgiveness toward us and extend forgiveness to others.
• We can call on God to deliver us from temptations, trails, hardships, and suffering. While God does not tempt anyone (James 1:13), the word temptation (πειρασμόν) can also be translated as trial or testing.

v16-18 Fasting is a time for us to humble ourselves before God. Fasting should be done in private so that we do not draw unnecessary attention to ourselves.

v19-24 As Christians, we have to choose between putting God first or material possessions. Idolatry is putting anything before or above God. What we choose to focus on affects our inner life. We cannot serve God if we put our desire for material wealth above Him.

v25-33 Jesus promises that God will provide for those who seek His Kingdom and righteousness. When we look at nature, we see how God provides for all His creation including us. Life can be stressful and full of financial worry, but God knows what we need before we even ask. When we build our spiritual life and pursue a relationship with God first, God promises to take care of our physical needs (Malachi 3:10).