so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.so that you are not seen by men to be fasting, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.that thou be not seen of men to fast, but of thy Father who is in secret: and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall recompense thee.
4 sermons cite this verse
… I wanna read the context of what he's writing together in Matthew 6, verses one through 18. We'll start with verse one here. Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward with your father in heaven. So, whenever you give to the poor, don't sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets to be applauded by people. But truly, I tell you, they have their reward. But when you give to the poor, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you. Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites because they love to pray standing in synagogues on the street corner to be seen by people. But truly I tell you, they've received their reward. But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, that's our word, and pray to your father who's in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you. …
… your giving may be in secret, and your Father who sees this in secret will reward you. Same thing down in verse 6, when you pray, go into your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. You get to fasting, verse 17 when you fast anoint your head wash your face that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret and your Father who sees in secret will reward you Jesus says give in secret pray in secret fast in secret why? because it's in hiddenness it's in what happens between you and the Father alone where reward is found you see this get this our hearts were made to find joy not in receiving honor from men but in experiencing hiddenness with God your heart was made to enjoy deepest intimacy and hiddenness with God, your Father. It's in hiddenness where reward is found. Don't neglect this, brothers and sisters. …
… get when, but when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret. Then your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not like be the hypocrites for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your father who is unseen. Then your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep babbling like the pagans, for they think they will be heard because there are many words. Do not be like them, for your father knows what you need before you ask him. Then he goes on and he gives them the Lord's prayer, which most of us are familiar with. He talks about forgiveness, but skipping ahead to verse 16. When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face so that will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your father who is unseen. …
… But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen, then your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. I love that. He says, go in your room, shut the door, and pray to your father who is unseen, who sees what is done in secret. You don't have to post it on Instagram. You don't have to create a reel or a picture with your Bible and your coffee and like a cute little quote, you know, just go into your room, shut the door and have a private moment with God. But the problem is we live in this culture where everybody wants to know everything that you've ever done. And so like, have you ever met like a marathoner before? it's all they talk about yeah i'm getting 50 miles in this week working up to 100 i got a mare next month short for marathon it's like no one says that but like it's like it's all they talk about like you can't talk about anything else it's like it just makes you feel terrible about yourself you know what i'm saying like that's how crossfit used to be until everyone started getting hurt and now we don't have to hear about crossfit anymore I don't know. …