Matthew 6

Charitable Giving to the Poor and Prayer

1“Take care not to practice your righteousness in the sight of people, 1to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

2“So when you 2give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, so that they 3will be praised by people. 4Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3But when you 5give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your charitable giving will be in secret; and 6your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

5“And when you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to 7stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners 8so that they 9will be seen by people. 10Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6But as for you, when you pray, 11go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and 12your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

7“And when you are praying, do not use thoughtless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their 13many words. 8So do not be like them; for 14your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

The Lord’s Prayer

9“15Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father, who is in heaven, 16Hallowed be Your name.101718Your kingdom come. 19Your will be done, 20On earth as it is in heaven.1121Give us this day 22our daily bread.12And 23forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.13And do not lead us into temptation, but 24deliver us from 2526evil.27’ 1428For if you forgive other people for their 29offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But 30if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive your 31offenses.

Fasting; The True Treasure; Wealth

16“Now 32whenever you fast, do not make a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they 33distort their faces so that they will be noticed by people when they are fasting. 34Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17But as for you, when you fast, 3536anoint your head and wash your face, 18so that your fasting will not be noticed by people but by your Father who is in secret; and your 37Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

19“38Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves 39treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21for 40where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22“41The eye is the lamp of the body; so then, if your eye is 42clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if 43your eye is 44bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24“45No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and 4647wealth.

The Cure for Anxiety

25“48For this reason I say to you, 49do not be 50worried about your 51life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? 2652Look at the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they? 27And which of you by 53worrying can 54add a single 55day to his 56life’s span? 28And why are you 57worried about clothing? Notice how the lilies of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin thread for cloth, 29yet I say to you that not even 58Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30But if God so clothes the 59grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? 60You of little faith! 31Do not 61worry then, saying, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear for clothing?’ 32For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for 62your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But 63seek first 64His kingdom and His righteousness, and 65all these things will be 66provided to you.

34“So do not 67worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will 68worry about itself. 69Each day has enough trouble of its own.