Chapter
13
Alms,
Prayers, and Fasting
"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. (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. (3) But
when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
(4) That thine alms may be in secret: and thy
Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. (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. (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. (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. (8) Be not ye therefore like unto them:
for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. (9) After
this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy
name. (10) Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in
heaven. (11) Give us this day our daily bread. (12) And forgive
us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. (13) And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (14) For if ye forgive men
their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: (15) But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will
your Father forgive your trespasses. (16) Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they
disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto
you, They have their reward. (17) But thou,
when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; (18) That thou
appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy
Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly." Matthew 6:1-18
Matthew 6 is a continuation of our Redeemer’s
Sermon on the Mount. In chapter 5 our Lord taught us that while the Pharisees
were very good at avoiding outward deeds of lawlessness and wickedness, they
understood nothing of heart-sins or of righteousness. He taught us that it is
not enough that we avoid evil acts, we must also avoid
evil attitudes. — “The Lord looketh on the heart.” In this chapter our
Savior teaches us that while the Pharisees were very meticulous in observing
their outward acts of worship, to be seen and applauded by men, they did not
worship God. In all their religion, there was no heart worship. It was all an
outward show. They convinced themselves that it was real; but their religion
was, nonetheless, nothing but an outward show. He is teaching us the necessity
of heart-worship, the necessity of doing what we do from an inward principle of
grace, for the glory of God.
In these verses
(1-18), our Lord Jesus Christ is warning us to be aware of and studiously avoid
hypocrisy in all acts of worship and service in the name of God. Hypocrisy is
the leaven of the Pharisees, the leaven of outward religion. If it reigns in
us, it will ruin us. So we are warned to beware of it. Hypocrisy is religion
that is only skin deep. It is a religion of words and works, but not of grace,
heart, and spirit. Hypocrisy is a form of godliness,
an outward show of religion, without the life and power of God in the soul.
Specifically, our
Master calls our attention to three areas of religious activity that are easily
perverted into mere acts of religious showmanship, three areas of religious
service where hypocrisy shows itself – the giving of alms, the matter of
prayer, and the practice of fasting. Alms, prayer, and fasting were prominent
areas of religious activity among the Jews of our Lord’s day.
In fact, wherever men practice religion of any kind, it is most natural to make
these three things matters of prominence. Judaism, Islam,
Hinduism, Christianity Protestant as well as Catholic, all religions encourage
alms, prayers, and fasting. Man naturally associates these things with
religion. By these three things, it is assumed that we serve God with our whole
being. In the giving of alms we serve him with our estates, in prayer with our
souls, and in fasting with our bodies.
While
encouraging the practice of outward piety, in this chapter, our Lord gives us a
much needed and commonly ignored warning: — In all our acts of
worship, devotion, and service to God, we must avoid seeking to be seen of men
and seek only to be seen of and to glorify the Lord God.
In verses 1-4 our Lord talks about alms, the
giving of alms. — "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. 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. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy
right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth
in secret himself shall reward thee openly.”
All that is said
here may be applied to giving in the house of God and giving in support of the
gospel ministry. But that is not what is primarily intended. Almsgiving is
charity giving. It is giving to the poor. Without question, this kind of
giving is prescribed by the law of God written upon the hearts of all men by
nature, the law given by the pen of Moses, and by the grace of God experienced
in the soul. Wherever grace and righteousness is established in the heart,
charity flows generously from the hand (Psa. 112:5, 9). That
which is given to the poor is said by God to be their due (Prov.
In all our
giving, let us give as unto the Lord. A giving God is worthy of a giving people
(2 Cor. 8:7-9). I make this promise to you, as you exercise generosity for the
glory of Christ and the good of your fellowmen — You
will never impoverish yourself by generosity! Do not give by the force of legal
constraint. And do not give from a spirit of covetousness, hoping to get more.
But God will never allow a generous soul to lack the means to be generous
(Prov. 3:9-10,
Alms-giving, when done
with an eye to God’s glory and from a principle of real love for others, is the
gift of the heart. Therefore, it seeks neither applause nor direction from men.
“What flows from God,” wrote Robert Hawker, “will tend to God. Jesus is then
in all, and a
respect to him is the aim of all.”
Prayer
In verses 5-15, the Lord Jesus Gives us very simple, but very needful,
instructions about prayer. — “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. 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. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as
the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much
speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what
things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy
kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us
this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.
Amen. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also
forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your
Father forgive your trespasses.”
Our Savior here assumes that all Christians pray. As soon as Saul of Tarsus was converted, we read, “Behold, he prayeth.” All who are godly, all who are born of God pray (Psa. 32:6). I do not say, “They say their prayers.” Saul of Tarsus did that all his life. There is a huge difference between saying a prayer and praying! Yet the Word of God does declare that every regenerate soul prays. “You may as soon find a living man that does not breathe,” wrote Matthew Henry, “as a living Christian that does not pray.” In these verses, our Lord does not teach his people to pray. There is no need for that. He teaches us how not to pray and how to pray.
In verses 5 and 6, he says, Do not pray to be seen of men. Do not use a posture in prayer that causes people to look at you or calls attention to yourself. In public places, other than places of public worship, we are not to engage in public prayer. Prayer is between you and God. As much as possible, let your prayers be unobserved and unheard by men.
Do not use vain repetitions (v. 7). That prohibition
extends to all memorized prayers, pious sounds and voice tones, religious
jargon, and “Hail Marys.” It even includes the mere
repetition of the words contained in these verses. This is a prohibition
against much speaking in prayer, too. God does not need to be informed or
argued with, but acknowledged, sought and honored. The prophets of Baal put on
a show when they cried aloud to their deaf god. The servant of God simply
uttered the desire of his heart (1 Kings
True prayer is an act of faith. Place, position, and posture are meaningless. Words are really insignificant. Prayer is the acknowledgment of God as my Father with the confidence that he knows and will supply all my needs. In prayer, the believer simply and confidently seeks the glory of God (v. 9), the increase of God’s kingdom (v. 10), the will of God (v. 10), daily provision (v. 11), daily mercy (v. 12), daily preservation (v. 13), and the praise of God (v. 13). Let men talk all they will about prayer, unless our prayers arise from sincere hearts of faith and love, they amount to nothing but meaningless noise, sounding brass and tinkling cymbals,. That is what the Lord Jesus says in verses 14 and 15.
Prayer Meetings
What about prayer meetings? When
our Lord tells us that we are to enter into our closets to pray to our Father,
is he forbidding public prayer meetings? Of course, the answer to that question
is “No.” We read, in Acts 1:14, that the saints in the early church “all continued with one accord in prayer
and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his
brethren.” When our Lord says, “When thou prayest,
enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father
which is in secret,” he is simply
telling us that true prayer is intensely private, between us and our Father. In
the passage before us (Matt. 6:5-15), our Lord is principally talking about the
private prayers of individuals. Yet, what he says certainly has application to
the public prayers of God’s saints in the house of worship.
After the ascension, the Apostles of our Lord
met together with their wives, with Mary, and with the other brethren,
continuing “with one accord in prayer and supplication.” Then, at the
appointed time and according to the promise of God, the Holy Spirit was poured
out upon the infant church on the Day of Pentecost.
Acts 1:14 is often
referred to as an example of and basis for what is called “prayer meetings,”
meetings particularly for the purpose of praying, especially with reference to
revival. Generally, these are not public worship services, but meetings of the
“spiritually elite,” usually men, in which one man after another leads the
others in “prayer.” In some cases all join in audibly, making it a time of
senseless confusion. The hope is that many men praying together can twist the
arm of the omnipotent God and get him to send revival.
Is that what took
place in the early church? Not likely. Acts
I am occasionally asked, “Why don’t you have
prayer meetings in your church?” My answer is, “We have prayer meetings at
least three times every week. All our worship services are prayer meetings.”
Our men meet in my office before every
service for Scripture reading and prayer. The public reading of Holy Scripture
and prayer are also a central part of all our worship services. I encourage the
men who read and lead us in prayer to read a brief passage, with little or no
comment. Then the man appointed to do so leads the
rest of us in prayer. But we do not have the kind of prayer meetings that are
common in most conservative churches, because I see no basis for them in
Scripture and see no value in them. In fact, I see them as detriments, rather
than helps.
Most of what goes on in the religious world is nothing but the practice of sentimentalism, designed and intended to make people feel religious and spiritual. People who call, asking to be put on our “prayer list,” are shocked when I tell them “We don’t have a prayer list.” I do not want to be put on anyone’s prayer list. I want to be remembered before the throne of grace as God enables his people to pray. Churches advertise “prayer lines,” as though we could get in contact with God by a dial-up connection. Such tom-foolery is as absurd and perverse as anything I can imagine. I would rather have a dial-up wife than have a dial-up god! Others start “prayer chains.” There is no more power in a prayer chain than there is in one of those chain letters ladies get from superstitious friends. We often get letters with an “urgent prayer request.” But we are not going to get God almighty to do what we want him to do by trying to twist his arm! And multitudes engage in “group prayers,” or what is called “prayer meetings.” Groups cannot twist God’s arm any better than an individual can.
Anything commonly practiced and promoted by the whole religious world ought to be marked with a skull and cross bones. It is nothing but poison to our souls.
I said that those things called “prayer
meetings” are real detriments rather than helps, because they tend to much
evil. Those who join in the group are looked upon (and, if the truth be told,
usually look upon themselves) as the spiritually elite of the church,
considering others less spiritual. And such meetings are looked upon as
forerunners to revival. After all, all the histories of revival tell us that
before revival came, men (and usually women) had great prayer meetings in which
they worked themselves up into a frenzy, calling it
God’s work.
Frankly, I am not impressed by most of what
has been called revival in church history. That which is commonly called
revival appears to me to be more demonic than heavenly. Most would call the
events recorded in 1 Kings
I do not want to discourage prayer. Let us pray more, not less! But we ought to take this matter of prayer, speaking to God, seriously (Eccles. 5:2). I am desperately afraid of being pretentious before God! Too often when I speak to God my words are too many and my thought too few.
Rather than getting people worked up in “prayer meetings” I offer this suggestion to pastors and churches. — Let us, like the church in Acts 1:14, continue “with one accord in prayer and supplication,” worshipping God. As we meet together in God’s house, with his people, in our Savior’s name, let our hearts be focused on worshipping our God, pouring out our hearts to him in prayer and supplications, as we preach and hear the blessed gospel of his free, saving grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is by the preaching of the gospel that Christ is honored, his people are edified, and sinners are converted. It is by this means, not religious excitement, that God is pleased to pour out upon his church his Spirit and his grace.
In his day (the 18th century), Robert Hawker lamented, “How little understood by the great mass of what the world calls worshippers!” How much more might we make the same lamentation today!
The Pattern
Look more closely at the pattern of prayer by which
our Savior teaches us to how we are to pray. — “After this manner therefore
pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in
heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we
forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the
glory, for ever. Amen” (vv. 9-13).
The
Lord Jehovah, our great God, in the three persons of the blessed trinity, is
our Father. Our Savior said, as he was leaving this world, once his work of
redemption was finished, “I ascend to my
Father and your Father, to my God and
your God” (John
We
desire that all his elect be saved, that his kingdom
of grace be established on earth among all his redeemed, as his kingdom of
glory is and will be established heavenly glory to all eternity.
The
bread for which we seek a daily supply, is not simply the bread of the body
that perishes, but the bread of the soul that endures to life everlasting, the
Lord Jesus himself, “the living Bread which came down from heaven...He that eateth of this Bread shall live forever” (John 6:51,
58). The cry of hungry souls is, “Lord, evermore give us this bread” (John
As we delight to forgive the trespasses of
others against us, so we seek forgiveness from our God by the merits of Christ
continually.
Because he alone
can keep us in the hour of temptation, our Savior here teaches us to pray that
our Father will keep us from the evil one who goes about “as a roaring lion,
seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8).
In
the last part of verse 13, our Lord teaches us to ascribe all the glory and
praise to God alone; and every heaven-born soul delights to do so. — “For of him, and through him, and to him, are
all things, to whom be glory forever”
(Rom.
With
the last word of verse 13, our Savior puts his name to the prayer, saying, “Amen.” Had he not done so, our amen would be nothing. Every time we pronounce that
blessed word, it should be done with the greatest reverence and with an eye of
faith toward Christ. To say “Amen” is not simply saying, as is commonly
thought, “so be it.” “Amen” is not us giving our
confirmation to what has been spoken. Rather, it is calling upon and
worshipping the Lord Jesus who is “the Amen” (Rev. 3:14) by
one of his great names, to confirm what has been said. To quote Hawker again,
“We should feel the striking nature of the expression, if at the end of
sermons, or prayers, or in any other part of our ordinances, we were solemnly
to close all with saying ‘Jesus.’ But yet in fact we do this when we say ‘Amen.’ For this is as truly the name
of the Lord Jesus as any other.
May the Lord give both to Writer and Reader a right understanding in all things!”
In
verses 1-5, our Savior declares, “For if
ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father
will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will
your Father forgive your trespasses.”
These two verses have caused great confusion to some; but there is no reason
for the confusion. It is utterly heretical to imagine, as many do, that our
Lord here conditions our forgiveness by his blood and his free grace upon our
forgiving of others. Our pardon and acceptance with God is entirely on Christ’s
account. Our forgiveness of others is a blessed result and evidence of our own
experience of forgiveness by God’s boundless, free grace. It is a sweet token
of the love of Christ ruling our hearts when we are enabled of God to be “kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving
one another, even as God for Christ’s
sake hath forgiven” us (Eph.
Fasting
Now, look at verses
16-18 – “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the
hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may
appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They
have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy
face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in
secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly."
Here our Savior gives a word of instruction about fasting.
Though religious people today talk a good bit about fasting, the Word of God says very little about it. Fasting is the occasional abstinence from food. It is subjecting the desires of the body and the needs of the body to the burden of the heart and the longings of the spirit in prayer. Our Lord is not giving us instructions about the value of insignificance of medical or dietary, but spiritual, religious fasting. What is fasting? What does the Word of God teach about fasting? Should we fast today? If so, how? Let’s hear what of our Lord Jesus Christ says in his Word about the matter.
Fasting is an occasional abstinence from food and carnal pleasures. It is subjecting the needs and desires of the body to the burden of the heart and longings of the spirit in prayer. We read of many in the Word of God who fasted in prayer when greatly concerned about a specific matter (David, when his child was dying; Daniel, when he sought the mind of the Lord; Esther, before going in to Ahasueras; the Lord Jesus, before he was tempted; and the church at Antioch, when they ordained Paul and Barnabas to preach the gospel).
Yet, there is no direct command given in the Word of God requiring anyone to fast or teaching us that we should fast. It is left to each believer to decide whether he will fast, when, and for how long. This is a matter about which no man should sit in judgment over another.
There are some poor people in this world who never have enough to eat. It would be utter cruelty to require them to fast. Sickly people, whose frames must be sustained by a very strict diet, would be acting foolishly if they fasted. If you choose to fast, you may do so freely. And, if you choose not to fast, you may do so freely.
The only thing our Lord requires is that no one is to know, but you and the Lord, whether you fast or do not fast. If you fast, “do not appear unto men to fast.” That is the only rule given in the Word of God about fasting.
Having
said that, I am confident that our Lord intends for us to understand that
fasting is not really a matter of depriving ourselves of physical food and
pleasure. He does not condemn fasting, but he reproves all outward, Pharisaic
and hypocritical displays of mortification and self-denial. All outward
displays of “godliness,” “devotion,” and “spirituality” are but displays of
corrupt hearts. The Pharisees attempted to cast reproach upon our Lord and his
disciples, when they asked our Savior, “Why
do the disciples of John fast often, and
make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees, but thine eat and
drink?” (Luke 5:33).
The
mere abstinence from food is not a fasting of the soul before God. — “The
Do nothing in
the worship and service of God to be seen of and applauded by men. Yes, we are
to let our light shine before men, that they may see our good works and glorify
our Father which is in heaven. But we are never to do anything that others my
see and applaud us! Our Lord Jesus, in this weighty, instructive passage
teaches us that we are never to attempt to do anything to show people our faith
in him, our love for him, or our devotion to him. Rather, we are to simply walk
before God in faith, devotion, and love. The hypocrite is one who lets his
light so shine before men that they cannot see what is going on backstage! The Lord
God cares nothing about how much money we give, how long we pray or how often,
and whether we fast. He is interested in only one thing. — “The Lord looketh on the heart!” When God looks on the heart, he
looks for faith in and love for the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will not accept us, and he will not accept anything we give to or do for
him, no matter how costly, no matter how zealous we are, unless we are washed
in the blood of his dear Son, robed in his righteousness, and sanctified by his
Spirit (1 Pet. 2:7).
Sinners cannot be accepted by the holy Lord God upon any grounds, for any reason, other than the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot give anything to God, worship him in prayer, or fast before him until we are in Christ by faith, until we are born again by his almighty grace. The real test of Christianity is not what we do for God, but what God in Christ has done for us.