Matthew 6:7-21 | Psalm 20:7
It’s Sunday and we have a recap of some things we’ve read once already. We need a brief word on a word/phrase that will continue to arise throughout Matthew: the Kingdom of Heaven (sometimes just kingdom or just heaven). Often our minds first think of an eternal place of rest or glory that comes after death when hearing about heaven. There is some aspect to it in this way. But in Matthew, there is a much deeper and necessary understanding and it has to do with a way, an order, a realm, a thinking, a positioning, a will, or simply the function of God at work.
So when we hear something like “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,” we must not only regulate it to something we will get later after we die. Jesus is calling us to store up heavenly goodness even now. Just the same, it’s not some “other place.” Rather, Jesus is inviting us to experience God in the here and now.
So whenever you read Jesus talking about the Kingdom or heaven, try to envision the blessing or resource or feeling or whatever else he is talking about in the current moment. Give it a shot as you read below and come across heaven, kingdom, or heavenly.
Matthew 6:7-21
“When you pray, don’t pour out a flood of empty words, as the Gentiles do. They think that by saying many words they’ll be heard. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask. Pray like this:
Our Father who is in heaven,
uphold the holiness of your name.
Bring in your kingdom
so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven.
Give us the bread we need for today.
Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you,
just as we also forgive those who have wronged us.
And don’t lead us into temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.
“If you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your sins.
“And when you fast, don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They distort their faces so people will know they are fasting. I assure you that they have their reward. When you fast, brush your hair and wash your face. Then you won’t look like you are fasting to people, but only to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“Stop collecting treasures for your own benefit on earth, where moth and rust eat them and where thieves break in and steal them. Instead, collect treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moth and rust don’t eat them and where thieves don’t break in and steal them. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Psalm 20:7
Some people trust in chariots, others in horses;
but we praise the Lord’s name.
Prayer
God, you have promised heavenly treasures that outweigh what we could envision or imagine. Help us to be grateful for the amazing gifts you have already given to us. Certainly food, shelter, and clothing. But all the more, God, help us to see, know, feel, realize, and actualize the intangible gifts of freedom and peace. By your Spirit & in Christ, Amen.