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Giving to the Poor and Prayer

¹ "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men ^(C1)to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

² "So when you ^(F1)give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they ^(C1)may be honored by men. ^(C2)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.³ "But when you ^(F1)give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,⁴ so that your ^(F1)giving will be in secret; and ^(C1)your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

⁵ "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to ^(C1)stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners ^(F1)(C2)so that they may be seen by men. ^(C3)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.⁶ "But you, when you pray, ^(C1)go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and ^(C2)your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

⁷ "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their ^(C1)many words.⁸ "So do not be like them; for ^(C1)your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

⁹ "^(C1)Pray, then, in this way:

'Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.

¹⁰ '^(C1)Your kingdom come.
^(C2)Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.

¹¹ '^(C1)Give us this day ^(F1)our daily bread.

¹² 'And ^(C1)forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

¹³ 'And do not lead us into temptation, but ^(C1)deliver us from ^(F1)(C2)evil. ^(F2)[For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]'

Fasting; The True Treasure; Wealth (Mammon)

¹⁶ "^(C1)Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they ^(F1)neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. ^(C2)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.¹⁷ "But you, when you fast, ^(C1)anoint your head and wash your face¹⁸ so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your ^(C1)Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

¹⁹ "^(C1)Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.²⁰ "But store up for yourselves ^(C1)treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;²¹ for ^(C1)where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²² "^(C1)The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is ^(F1)clear, your whole body will be full of light.²³ "But if ^(C1)your eye is ^(F1)bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

²⁴ "^(C1)No 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 ^(F1)(C2)wealth.

The Cure for Anxiety

²⁵ "^(C1)For this reason I say to you, ^(F1)do not be ^(C2)worried about your ^(F2)life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?²⁶ "^(C1)Look at the birds of the ^(F1)air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?²⁷ "And who of you by being ^(C1)worried can ^(C2)add a single ^(F1)hour to his ^(F2)life?²⁸ "And why are you ^(C1)worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,²⁹ yet I say to you that not even ^(C1)Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.³⁰ "But if God so clothes the ^(C1)grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? ^(C2)You of little faith!³¹ "Do not ^(C1)worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?'³² "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for ^(C1)your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.³³ "But ^(F1)seek first ^(F2)His kingdom and His righteousness, and ^(C1)all these things will be ^(F3)added to you.

³⁴ "So do not ^(C1)worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will ^(F1)care for itself. ^(F2)Each day has enough trouble of its own.