How often do you fast?

Do you ever?

Fasting is one discipline that modern Christians have almost completely forgotten. It is such a neglected discipline that we aren’t even sure what it is any longer.

I find that extremely sad. And I bet Jesus does as well.

In this week’s passage, he begins by stating “when you fast…” When. Not if.

It’s almost like this is expected of us.

Check out the entire passage in Matthew 6:16-18.

Fasting is not something we find easy to do. Most of the time, we don’t even think about it. But it is a discipline that we need to develop.

I know that I’ve seen God’s hand very clearly during times when I’ve fasted.

Maybe we need to relearn this discipline…

Do you fast? What benefits have you received from fasting in your life? Let me know in the comments.

Forgiveness. It’s a crucial aspect of the Christian life. In fact, it’s a crucial aspect for everyone. It is one of the keys to making any relationship work.

In this week’s passage, Jesus connects the forgiveness within our human relationships to the forgiveness found in our relationship with the Father.

It’s simple, really.

If we forgive, he forgives. If we don’t, he won’t.

Take a look at the passage. It’s found in Matthew 6:14-15.

I can name numerous instances in my own life where I’ve seen this principle in action. Fortunately, I can say that eventually I’ve come to a place of forgiveness in almost every one of them. Unfortunately, I can’t say that it always happened quickly or timely.

I just pray that I’m getting better at it. And the more I practice it, the easier it gets.

Do you find it easy or hard to forgive others? What do you do to help you overcome the temptation to not forgive? Let me know in the comments.

This week’s passage is a longer one, but it’s a section of the Sermon on the Mount that is very well-known: The Lord’s Prayer.

It’s found in Matthew 6:9-13.

I can remember standing and reciting this as a class prayer before lunch every day in Mrs. Moyel’s class when I was in third grade…. in a public school.

It’s a prayer that many people have learned by heart as children. And, as a result, it’s become almost too familiar, and we glance over it without really reading it or paying attention to it.

My challenge to you this week is to really think about what Jesus is saying here. Dwell on it. Pray over it. And then pray more like him…

Did you memorize this passage as a child? Or is this a new one for you? Let me know in the comments.

Last week, we saw the first example of how not to pray that Jesus gave before he gave the model prayer.

In this week’s passage, he gives us another bad example.

Take a look at this passage in Matthew 6:7-8.

It seem like our pride, and our desire to hear our own voices can be a deterrent to effective prayer.

In this week’s passage, Jesus informs us that God already know what we need, even before we ask him. That should keep us from being too wordy.

Do you ever find yourself being too wordy in your prayers? What do you do to combat this? Let me know in the comments.

Prayer.

Out of all the instructions that Jesus gave, this is perhaps one of the most important.

The model prayer that Jesus taught us appears in Matthew 6, and this weeks passage introduces that entire section. You can find it at Matthew 6:5-6.

Before Jesus gives us a model prayer, he gives us a couple of examples of what not to do.

One of those we see this week; next week we look at another.

Jesus viewed prayer as a crucial part of his life and ministry. And it seems as if he views it as important for us as well.

What do you do to maintain humility in prayer? Let me know in the comments.

This week’s passage completes the teaching on giving that began with the start of Matthew 6.

Jesus teaches here that our giving should be done solely from the motivation of being for God; not so that others will see and congratulate us.

This week’s passage is found in Matthew 6:3-4.

Giving is an affair that is between you and God alone.  That helps us keep our motives pure.

Do you struggle with letting one hand know what the other is doing? Let me know in the comments.

Matthew 6 starts out with a few verses on the practical aspects of giving.

While the specific context here is giving, the hypocritical nature being warned agains here really applies to every area of life.

The text is from Matthew 6:1-2.

Jesus is encouraging us to keep the proper motivation in our giving.

I don’t know about you, but I find that this can be difficult to do, especially in our culture today.

How do you guard against displaying your ‘acts of righteousness’? Let me know in the comments.