A Sermon from the Messiah: Pt 2 – Matthew 6

The Messiah’s sermon continues as He instructs about our motivation to be benevolent; We are to give, to help the needy, not to build ourselves up. He teaches about prayer and reliance upon God. He talks about fasting and not demanding others know about your fast. He reminds about what is truly valuable and where we should place our hope. Then He speaks more about reliance on God and not to worry about the basics of life.

A Deeper Look at Prayer

In Jesus’ model prayer there are three areas of need He mentions. The same three areas we continue to have need to address.

1. Physical Needs. Give us this day our daily bread. Our daily concerns are important to the Father. Nothing is too common to share with God. Jesus says to pray for our daily bread not tomorrow’s bread. Maybe he does this to remind us of our constant dependence on God. I should mention He says to pray for bread not cake or steak. Maybe, just maybe we should not be focused on getting ahead in this life and instead have a greater focus on the things of God.
2. Relationship Needs. Specifically Jesus talks about forgiveness. He speaks of our forgiveness from God and connects it to our forgiveness of our fellow man. There are those around us that need our forgiveness. Maybe they hurt you unintentionally – forgive them. Maybe they acted on purpose – have a forgiving spirit. Your relationships are more important than the hurt. Their relationship with God is more important than the hurt. Your relationship with God is more important than the hurt. Forgiveness helps heal relationships that are the human connections we need to be a whole person. I find it an interesting side question that if we need daily bread do we also need daily forgiveness?
3. Spiritual Needs. We need forgiveness from God. We need that relationship to be strong. We need to be a part of His kingdom (the church) that will be His eternal kingdom (heaven). We need God as our Father.

Take time to talk to your Father in heaven today.

-Scott