In Matthew 6, Jesus spoke about three personal disciplines that are part of every Christian’s life: giving, praying and fasting. Note that I said these three disciplines are part of every Christian’s life. How do we know they should be part of our lives? As Jesus spoke about them, he used an important word before each one.
Let’s look at prayer as an example. “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6, NKJV). Jesus started off each of the three disciplines with the word ‘when’, which assumes we are already practicing them. What’s more, if we pursue these disciplines without anybody’s knowledge, we will receive a reward and everyone will benefit; they will always go public, or “in the open,” in their effect.
Now go back and count the number of times Jesus used the words you or yours. This is the only verse in the whole Bible that has the singular personal pronoun in it this many times. Why is this important to note? Because Jesus was saying that you have a responsibility. You.
Here’s the beautiful part of it; this responsibility is never a waste of time because your Father will reward you. You. The word ‘reward’ means to clock in and get a paycheck. Jesus was saying that every time you pray, you clock in; you expect a paycheck. God pays his workers well. You will come out with way more than you put in.
When Mother Teresa was alive, many who visited her and her missionaries of Charity in Calcutta were surprised that every lunchtime they left their life-sustaining work in dispensaries and in the home for the dying. “Why do you go back so soon and not stay longer? Where do you go?”
Mother Teresa responded, “We go to pray. We have learned that to work without prayer is to achieve only what is humanly possible, and our desire is to be involved in divine possibilities.”
We get to be involved in divine possibilities when we give, when we pray, when we fast. Let’s show up today to our responsibilities. The pay-off is too good not to.
After pastoring an inner-city congregation in Detroit for thirty years, Pastor Tim served at Brooklyn Tabernacle in NYC for five years and pastored in Lafayette, Louisiana, for five years. He became Senior Pastor of Times Square Church in May of 2020.