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The Needy, Prayer & Fasting

The Needy

Matthew 6:1-4

Question: When there is a begger on the street panhandling, do you give to him or her?

Answer: I usually do not give money. I will go and buy some food and return and give that to the person.

Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. Matthew 5:42

God gives so much to us, he only asks that we would imitate his heart. Some may say, 'He's only going to buy drugs with the money that I give.' or 'my sister will only squander what I give her and come back for more.' But, I tell you, it is not up to us to give or not give based on what another person will do or not do. God commands us to give, what the other person does with what you give will be their sin or their bless. If it's a situation where someone you now squanders money, then try to get them help, so that they learn to save and spend wisely. Above all, give if you have it to give. Give freely *smile*

Prayer

Matthew 6:5-17

Question: Do you feel the that the prayer in this passage should be memorized and prayed often? Could this be a trick question? *smile*

Answer: I think that this prayer can be prayed 'as is,' certainly. I also feel that Jesus was giving us a blueprint on how to pray. How to structure our prayers.

'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Let us use a little common sense here and think about a relationship. In a relationship in order for it to be successful you have to listen and talk, right? Not only do you have to talk, but you have to let the other person in the relationship know your joys and your sorrows, right? If you and I walked by each other everyday for a year and said to each other, 'Hi, how are you?' 'Fine, thank you, and you?' Would we really know each other? This prayer is a sample of the way you should pray.

'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.'

Praise God. Reflect on how awesome he is. I love to pray outside here on the west cost because all around me I see trees, mountains, and the ocean is not far away. How awesome are God's wonders! *s*

'your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.'

Surrender to God your worries. Let him know how you feel, but just as Jesus knew God had a plan, we need to realize that God has a plan for our lives even in our darkest hour.

'Give us each day our daily bread.'

In John 6:35 Jesus says that he is the bread of life. We need to be asking for understanding of God's Word. And not just some times, but DAILY.

'Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.'

Do you see that God assumes we will be forgiving our debtors? *smiile*

Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Luke 6:37

'and lead us not into temptation, but lead us from the evil one.'

Pray about the things that will tempt you throughout the day. The one's that you know about and the ones that might sneak up on you. Pray that you'll have the wisdom to resist and leave the situation if need be.

Fasting

Matt. 6:16-18

Question: What do you believe fasting is for? Have you ever fasted?

Answer: I believe fasting is to focus our attention on God and prayer. The act of denying yourself and making a marked change from your daily routine will grab your attention, allow you to zero in on what you are doing. I have fasted on a couple of occasions. One of the choir members in our church choir was very, very ill, he was not expected to live. Our choir director asked us all to fast on one certain day. It was not hard to do. Everytime I thought about eating, I just used that time to pray for my friend. It was very nice to know that we were all praying and fasting at the same time. Oh, and by the way, God worked a miracle in my friend. He has made a 100% recovery and just recently got married! Praise the Lord!!

Fasting

1. To abstain from food.

2. To eat very little or abstain from certain foods, especially as a religious discipline.

Fasting is meant to draw you closer to God. If you read in the Bible before someone needed to make a major decision they fasted. They fasted for strength, wisdom, humbleness, and understanding. If you're having a hard time understanding something from God's Word - fast and pray that God will reveal an understanding to you. Or if there is something in your chracter that you really want to change - fast and pray. You can fast for a number of reasons. Overall is shows to God that you are serious about getting things resolved and drawing closer to him.

Some do fast from food and all solids, but for others this would be unsafe. It's okay in this instance to fast from a certain kind of food or to fast from a certain activity. It needs to be something that you'll miss, so at those times when you are craving and hungering for it you'll remember and pray to God.

Prayer Focus

Giving to God and giving to others.

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