Matthew 6 – The Lord’s Prayer – The Gospels

Read Gospel of Matthew Online“Take care not to perform your religious duties in public in order to be seen by others; if you do, your Father who is in heaven has no reward for you. 2 Therefore, when you do acts of charity, do not have a trumpet blown in front of you, as hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. There, I tell you, is their reward!

3 But, when you do acts of charity, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 So that your charity may be secret; and your Father, who sees what is in secret, will recompense you. 5 And, when you pray, you are not to behave as hypocrites do. They like to pray standing in the synagogues and at the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. There, I tell you, is their reward!”

6 But, when you pray, go into your own room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who dwells in secret; and your Father, who sees what is secret, will recompense you. 7 When praying, do not repeat the same words over and over again, as is done by the Gentiles, who think that by using many words they will obtain a hearing. 8 Do not imitate them; for God, your Father, knows what you need before you ask him.

9 You, therefore, should pray like this: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread; 12 And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; 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.’

14 For, if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will forgive you also; 15 But, if you do not forgive others their trespasses, not even your Father will forgive your trespasses.

16 And, when you fast, do not put on gloomy looks, as hypocrites do, who disfigure their faces that they may be seen by others to be fasting. That, I tell you, is their reward! 17 But, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that you may not be seen by others to be fasting, but by your Father who dwells in secret; and your Father, who sees what is secret, will recompense you.

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

22 The light of the body is the eye. If your eye is unclouded, your whole body will be lit up; 23 But, if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be darkened. And, if the inner light is darkness, how intense must that darkness be! 24 No one can serve two masters, for either they will hate one and love the other, or else they will attach themselves to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

25 That is why I say to you, do not be anxious about your life here—what you can get to eat or drink; nor yet about your body—what you can get to wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than its clothing? 26 Look at the wild birds: they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns; and yet your heavenly Father feeds them! And are not you more precious than they?

27 But which of you, by being anxious, can prolong your life a single moment? 28 And why be anxious about clothing? Study the wild lilies, and how they grow. They neither toil nor spin; 29 Yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his splendor was not robed like one of these. 30 If God so clothes even the grass of the field, which is living today and tomorrow will be thrown into the oven, will not he much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31 Do not then ask anxiously ‘What can we get to eat?’ or ‘What can we get to drink?’ or ‘What can we get to wear?’ 32 All these are the things for which the nations are seeking, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But first seek his kingdom and the righteousness that he requires, and then all these things shall be added for you. 34 Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own anxieties. Every day has trouble enough of its own.”

——

To read Chapter 7 of the Gospel of Matthew, please go to: Cast Pearls Before Swine. Browse the entire Gospel of Matthew here: Gospel of Matthew.



The Living Hour