Audio Download

Matthew 6:1–15 The Lord’s Prayer

[Study Aired April 7, 2025]

Introduction

Our study today is centered on two areas – alms and prayer. In verse 1 of today’s study, the Lord warned us to take heed so that we do not carry out our righteousness before men. The issue of alms, prayer and fasting must all be carried out such that we do not manifest our righteousness before men. 

Mat 6:1  Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them: else ye have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. (ASV)

Carrying out our righteousness before men means coveting the praise of men more than our fellowship with the Lord, which must be done in secret. As a result, we shall not be rewarded by the Lord. Our review today will therefore touch on the subject of reward for the Lord’s elect. 

Giving to the Needy

Mat 6:1  Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 
Mat 6:2  Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 
Mat 6:3  But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 
Mat 6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

In verse 1, most versions of the Bible talk about taking heed that we do not our righteousness before men. In the King James version of the Bible, however, instead of righteousness, alms was used, which seems to imply that verse 1 is talking about alms. Verse 1, however, is the general principle we must apply to our lives when it comes to alms, prayer and fasting. 

It is important to note that under the law of Moses, our righteous acts are all carnal. When we were in Babylon or the physical churches of this world, we were under the law and all our actions were geared towards pleasing men. In other words, we were hypocrites. It was when faith came that we came out of Babylonian captivity and entered the church of the firstborn. Here we are under the law of the spirit of life which sets us free from the law of sin and death, that is, the law of Moses. 

Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 

The whole essence of our worship of the Lord is to please Him in everything, and not man. This guiding principle must permeate everything we do. Since we are physical beings, we naturally gravitate towards pleasing men. However, if our motive is to be seen of men for our giving to those in need, then we have failed woefully. The giving of alms is a righteous act towards man and must be done in secret so that we receive a reward. On the other hand, any act of righteousness before men to receive the praise of men is regarded as receiving our reward already. 

Spiritually, the giving of alms entails sharing the word of the Lord to those in need as shown in the following:

Pro 11:24  There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. 
Pro 11:25 The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. 

Luk 6:38  give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.

The liberal soul is the one who shares the word of the Lord, and he is the one who waters and is therefore watered. As we are aware, water represents the word of the Lord. Being watered therefore means being given a deeper insight into the word of the Lord. 

The reward we receive as a result of our righteousness is in two parts – the one we receive here on earth and the one the Lord has in store for us as His overcomers, which cannot decay. The Lord will meet our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus and at the first resurrection, we shall be given to rule the kingdoms of this world. Later, we shall become judges in the lake of fire age, to bring salvation to the whole of the human race. 

Luk 12:29  And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. 
Luk 12:30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. 

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 
Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. 

The Lord’s Prayer

Mat 6:5  And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 
Mat 6:6  But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 

Prayer is a kind of righteousness. Submitting ourselves to prayer means that we acknowledge our own inadequacy, and therefore we depend on the Lord, who has all the resources to help us. As we are aware, by the things that are made, we are able to know more about God. 

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 

Children who have strong ties with their parents have those ties basically through the bond of communication between them. Prayer is part of the communication channel that allows us to build a strong relationship with the Lord. Prayer on one part is we reaching out to the Lord and the other part is the Lord communicating with us through His words.  We should therefore see prayer as a lifestyle that encompasses our reaching out to the Lord and His speaking to us through His words. That is why Paul says that we should pray without ceasing. That is because prayer should be a lifestyle.

1Th 5:17  Pray without ceasing.
1Th 5:18  In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

When our parents speak to us and we do not pay attention to them, our relationship with them gets disrupted. The same is with our Lord Jesus Christ. It is our iniquities which have disrupted our relationship with Him such that He cannot hear our prayers. 

Isa 59:1  Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
Isa 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.  

In verse 5, we are told some of the things we do that disrupt the channel of communication between us and the Lord. One of them is our desire to be seen by men as being pious. In this case, we have received our reward already. As indicated, receiving our reward already means that there is nothing to look forward to in this life or in an age to come in terms of the Lord rewarding us. An example of this in the Bible is Esau. This is what the word of the Lord says about him:

Heb 12:15  Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; 
Heb 12:16  Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
Heb 12:17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. 

In verse 6, the Lord is saying that we should enter into our closet and shut the door when we pray. In this way, our Father who sees in secret shall reward us openly. We need to know that the Lord’s words are spirit. The closet that we must enter into to pray is our hearts and minds. To shut the door means blocking out anything in our hearts and minds that will shift our focus from our interaction with the Lord. This means that we are not limited to a place when we are to pray. We may be right on a job or in a car driving, but in the spirit, we are touching base with the Lord. That is one way that prayer can become a lifestyle. 

We must understand that here the Lord is not speaking about answer to prayer but reward of prayer. We know that reward is based on works or what we have done. This implies that the reward of prayer is based on works, that is, what we have done.  That is why prayer is a lifestyle. Our prayers are supported by the way we live as we explained earlier. 

Answer to prayers is based on how our thoughts are aligned with that of the Lord and also His timing. Our lives are in the hands of the Lord and that includes our timing. Because our timings are in the Lord’s hands, we need to exercise patience, coupled with faith, in order to receive what we pray for. Again, that is why praying is a lifestyle.

Heb 10:36  For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 
Heb 10:37  For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. 
Heb 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 

In this age, the Lord’s elect are hidden in Christ. In other words, Christ must be unveiled to you before you can see who is the Lord’s elect. This implies that our works are all hidden in Christ, that is to say that everything pertaining to us – our works, etc. are secret, just as our Lord is also hidden in secret. 

Col 3:3  For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 
Col 3:4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.   

Isa 45:15  Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Savior.

Mat 6:7  But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 
Mat 6:8  Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 

Most of us were guilty of vain repetitions when we prayed, believing that the Lord will hear us because of our much speaking and our supposed “tongue speaking” which is fraught with vain repetitions which are totally meaningless. I remember during my Babylonian days, I would go to a garden with some of my close friends, some of them are now Babylonian Pastors with thousands of people in their congregation, to pray and it’s all about speaking repetitively in tongues. The fact that the Lord knows what we need before we ask means that we do not have to say much when asking for a need. This is different from being persistent in our request whenever we pray as the example of the parable of the woman and the judge shows.

Luk 18:1  And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; 
Luk 18:2  Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 
Luk 18:3  And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. 
Luk 18:4  And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; 
Luk 18:5  Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. 
Luk 18:6  And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. 
Luk 18:7  And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? 
Luk 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?  

What we need to understand is that prayer must be measured by our heart’s desire and not by our much speaking. This implies that our hearts and minds must be right before the Lord. On the other hand, if we regard iniquity in our hearts, the Lord will not hear us.

Psa 66:18  If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: 

Rom 10:1  Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. 

Psa 112:7  He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. 
Psa 112:8 His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies. 

Getting rid of iniquity in our hearts and minds is the work of the Lord, and it involves the Lord coming with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to take residence in our hearts and minds as the old man or our flesh is gradually dethroned from our hearts and minds.

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 

This is a process resulting in the desire of our soul being in tune with His name. That is when our prayers are heard and answered. The timing of our answer, however, is in the hands of the Lord. 

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. 
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. 

Psa 21:2  Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah. 
Psa 21:3  For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.
Psa 21:4  He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever. 

We must understand that the sum of the Lord’s words shows us that the Lord in His wisdom and mercy answers the prayers of even those who do not know Him, in accordance with His will and purpose.

Gen 4:13  And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
Gen 4:14  Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. 
Gen 4:15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. 

Gen 21:14  And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. 
Gen 21:15  And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. 
Gen 21:16  And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept. 
Gen 21:17  And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. 
Gen 21:18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. 

As we are aware, the Bible was written for the Lord’s elect first, and therefore the Lord is showing us, His children, that there must be a communication channel between us and our Lord. As indicated earlier, iniquity in our hearts is what blocks the communication channel between us and our Lord. Our situation is different from those who do not know the Lord as He may choose to intervene in their circumstance as they cry to Him according to the counsel of His own will.

Mat 6:9  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  

The Lord here is giving us guidance as to how we should pray and not what we should be using as our prayer as we see in the physical churches of this world. The Lord is telling us here in verse 9 that the first thing we should be aware of is that we should know our Father, whom we are communicating with. That is, our father here is different from our human fathers in the sense that He is our Father in heaven. He is our Father in our hearts and minds. Again, we should know that the Bible was written for the elect and therefore everything here is addressed to the elect, where the Father and His son, Jesus Christ have made a habitation within us. 

Joh 14:23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 

Our human fathers do not know us and can be unforgiving and merciless, and are not endowed with all the resources to help us. However, our Father in Heaven is merciful, compassionate towards us and has all the resources to bring us to an expected end. In addition, He has gone through all that we are going through and therefore understands our circumstances and challenges better. We are therefore not to worry but to have confidence when we come before Him. 

Jer 29:11  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 

Heb 4:14  Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 
Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. 

Mat 6:10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 

As we are aware, in this age, the kingdom of God is within His people. In an age to come, this kingdom will be made manifest for all to see here on earth.

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.  

Thy kingdom come here in verse 10 is therefore referring to the Lord establishing His kingdom within His elect first. This is because the salvation of the whole of the human race is dependent on our Lord Jesus Christ and His elect. 

Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 
Rom 8:20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 
Rom 8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 
Rom 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S. 

Praying for the Lord’s kingdom to come is therefore asking the Lord to establish the kingdom within His elect. It is when Christ sits on His throne within our hearts and minds that the Lord’s will, will be done in our lives as earthen vessels (earth), as it is within us. In other words, Christ within will be manifested in our daily lives. 

Mat 6:11  Give us this day our daily bread. 

This verse means that for the kingdom of God to be established within us, His elect, we must be fed with the word of the Lord on a daily basis even as we physically eat everyday. Of course, this verse also includes the Lord’s physical provision for our needs as the kingdom is being established within us.  

Php 4:19  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 

An example of how we are to feed on the word of the Lord daily is shown in the story of the manna that the people of Israel ate in the wilderness. They were to collect it daily every morning. In other words, it is when Christ the sun rises within us (in the morning) that we are given to assimilate His words daily.  

Exo 16:15  And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.
Exo 16:16  This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents. 
Exo 16:17  And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. 
Exo 16:18  And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating. 
Exo 16:19  And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. 
Exo 16:20  Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them. 
Exo 16:21  And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted. 

When the sun waxed hot, the manna melted. This is to show us that when we meet Christ (the sun) face to face in the resurrection, we shall know Him fully, (the manna has melted) and therefore, we shall not be fed with the word of the Lord daily again. 

1Co 13:9  For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 
1Co 13:10  But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 
1Co 13:11  When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 
1Co 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 

Mat 6:12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 

Spiritually, debt represents our sins as shown in the following parable by the Lord:

Mat 18:23  Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
Mat 18:24  And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 
Mat 18:25  But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 
Mat 18:26  The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 
Mat 18:27  Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
Mat 18:28  But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 
Mat 18:29  And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 
Mat 18:30  And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 
Mat 18:31  So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 
Mat 18:32  Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 
Mat 18:33  Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 
Mat 18:34  And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 
Mat 18:35  So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not everyone his brother their trespasses. 

Forgive our debtors in verse 12 means that we must forgive those who sin against us. This is because the Lord is always forgiving us our sins. If we tend not to forgive, then we cannot be the Lord’s servants as He will not forgive our sins. 

Mat 6:13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. 

We know from the word of the Lord that the Lord Himself does not tempt us and that we are tempted, when we are pulled away by our own lust. It is when lust is conceived within us that it brings forth sin. 

Jas 1:13  Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 
Jas 1:14  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 
Jas 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 

Here in verse 13, the Lord is showing us that because He is not the one who tempts us to sin but the devil, our prayers should be focused on the Lord delivering us from evil. It takes the grace of the Lord to be delivered from evil, and therefore we should be fervent in praying for the Lord to deliver us from evil. The story of Job depicts the fact that the Lord is not the tempter but it is the devil who is the agent of evil. This does not obviate the fact that everything that happens is according to the counsel of the Lord’s own will, but rather to show us that the executor of evil is the devil.

Job 1:12  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.  

The next sentence in verse 13 about the kingdom, the power and glory belonging to the Lord is to bring to our attention that the Lord is mighty and is in perfect control of everything that is happening in this world. As a result, we must have the confidence when we come before Him in prayer that what He has started in us, He is able to bring it to completion. 

1Ti 1:17  Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: 

Mat 6:14  For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 

We have already addressed these verses under verse 12 where the Lord is telling us that we should pray for Him to forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. In summary, we must forgive men their trespasses, so that our heavenly Father will also forgive our trespasses. When we refuse to forgive others, we fall from the grace of God and are prone to all kinds of sin – bitterness which defiles many, fornication, etc. In the final analysis, we find no place of repentance and as a result, we are disqualified to inherit the blessing.    

Heb 12:15  Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; 
Heb 12:16  Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 
Heb 12:17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. 

May the Lord continue to uphold us in His mercy as we see the day approaching. Amen!!