There are three things in Matthew 6 that Jesus seems to simply just assume we will do: Give, Pray & Fast. To each he says, "When you...." Not if, but when. Fasting is meant to be a regular part of our discipleship to Jesus, yet for many, it isn't. It can be a topic of confusion, bring up feelings of religiosity or a burden to carry, and yet, Jesus says that the Father is looking to reward us when we participate in this spiritual practice in following Him.

Jesus tells us that we should be praying for God to rescue us, to deliver us from the work of the devil. We should pray for God to protect us, keep evil far from us, and when it comes to deliver us from it. Psalm 34 says we can call on the name of the Lord and he will hear us and respond! We are called to pray. Not just to ask God for help in our time of need, but everyday, "God, keep evil far from me!"

Jesus tells us to ask God to not lead us into temptation. Does God do that? Does God tempt us? Test us? Put us through trial? For what purpose would He do that? Or is there more to the story?

In the middle of this prayer that Jesus is teaching his disciples, he includes that if we want to be forgiven, we must choose to forgive those who have sinned against us. Is this really an ultimatum? Is Jesus saying we can't be forgiven until we choose to forgive? And is this judgment or justice?

Jesus doesn't start with, "Ask God for things..." He starts with, "Honor your Father, who He is, and His kingdom. Invite His plan, over yours..." Then he adds, in Matthew 6:11, to ask God for provision. God invites us to talk to him about our needs. He is provider. He is sustainer. He is our help in times of trouble. And He is our good and perfect Father, who already knows what we need, so we don't need to worry, but can confidently approach His throne of grace to receive mercy!

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus isn't just teaching a model prayer to use, but he's teaching the heart behind prayer. What we pray, why we pray, who we are praying to is all of great importance. And when we pray, we are inviting God into our circumstances, but, are we willing to step into His purposes?

Jesus, after giving some instructions on how not to pray, and that in the private place is the best place, he continues on to the "model" of prayer, starting with, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name..." In that one line he encourages the availability of God the Father to all mankind. You have a Father! He loves you. He accepts you. He is waiting to embrace you! And He is also God Almighty, Creator of the universe!

As Jesus continues his "Sermon on the Mount" he gets to the topic of prayer and fasting in Matthew 6:5-18. Just like he says when talking about generosity, he says of these two topics, they are private matters between us and God. We are meant to have a personal and private prayer life before God.