Join us for a summary walk through the life of Jesus. Journey toward Resurrection Day with a renewed vision and appreciation for the life of Jesus Christ. Each day you will find a link to the Bible passage for that day and helpful resources for your study.
March 14. Read Matthew 6. Jesus Teaches About Prayer.
Jesus gives a simple model of prayer for His people to follow. This has come to be known as the Lord's Prayer, though it's not literally something Jesus, Himself, is praying. This is His outline, taught to believers, explaining the right attitudes and components of prayer. That begins by addressing God as Father, declaring His holiness, and asking Him to accomplish His plans on earth. Then Jesus models requests for daily food, forgiveness of sin, and deliverance from temptation and evil. He adds an appeal for forgiveness from God as well as a declaration, to God, that we have forgiven other people (Matthew 6:9–13).
After modeling prayer, Jesus returns to calling out the hypocrites who perform religious acts in order to be approved of by others. When they fast, they don't groom themselves and they walk around looking gloomy all day so everyone will know how spiritual they're being. That's all the reward they'll get. Instead, Jesus says, do your fasting for God and not to be seen by others. Wash your face. Don't tell everyone. God will know, and He will reward you (Matthew 6:16–18).
Reflect: How are we supposed to pray in light of Jesus’ teachings on prayer? In what areas of your life is God calling you to pray for His will to be done?
Keep reading this commentary. Click “next verse” to continue.
FAQ from our network of sites:
- What is the Lord's prayer and should we pray it?
- How are we supposed to pray?
- What does Matthew 6 mean? Start reading our commentary here. Click "Next verse" to continue through the passage.
- For kids: Why did Jesus say we should pray the Lord's Prayer?
- For teens: What's the right way to pray?
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