Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6 is a good read for Christian devotion. Everything in this chapter was spoken by Jesus who is meant to be our ultimate example in the faith based on Hebrews. 12:2: Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. In this chapter, he mentions three major devotions, namely; Prayer, fasting, and giving. With all three devotions, he focuses not on the acts themselves but the motive behind them. Many people have a view of these devotions that affect the way they engage in them.
For instance, in prayer, we have had in recent times, many videos on the Internet where people are speaking about their personal consecrations and making it look like a doctrine that everyone must live by. How does a video come with a title, “If you pray for 21 hours each day in 1 week, you’ll see an angel”? First of all, prayer has a cumulative effect and we don’t know what that person has been doing before that 21-hour prayer which led to a specific encounter so you can’t just do what they did and expect that you’d have the same experience. This title makes people want to try this just to see what you projected will happen. As a result, we don’t have people praying again to commune with God but to have the encounters of others.
Then we have fasting. Some people subconsciously hold the view that if you want God to do something urgently, fast. Sudden changes have happened to some people who fasted about a situation but it wasn’t God who was waiting for them to starve first so he’d release it. That makes him look cruel. Fasting doesn’t change God’s mind or move his hand. It changes the person doing it and positions their spirit to receive what God has already purposed to do a long time ago. So the motive of fasting would not be necessarily always to get from God but to be in alignment with what God is already doing. It is to work on me not God. As a result of this motive, there are people who longer trust in God and it may not look obvious or it’s not something they are saying outright. It’s subtle, they believe in their fasting. They say; As for me, if I do three days, everything works. To them, it was by their effort.
The third discipline is giving. Some people think they can “bribe” God with their giving. So they live anyhow and pay tithe so it looks like they have fulfilled all righteousness. God wants not just your money, but all of you. In Romans 12:1, we are told to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. So, it’s no longer just about what other sacrifices you make like working in a church or giving money to church but your everyday life outside the walls of the church.
You notice that throughout the chapter, one thing runs through and it’s called secrecy and privacy. Your relationship with God whether in prayer, fasting and giving has to be authentic and the way to measure the authenticity is not the outward display but the private disposition. If you do it consistently in private, then it’s real.
Our hearts need to be right because of this scripture in Matthew 7:20-23 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
This means that you saw angels and walked in a demonstration of power does not mean you bore the right fruits. He called them workers of iniquity. In other words, work done equals zero. Let’s have the right motives for our Christian devotions and disciplines so our works won’t be consumed by the fire on judgment day. You’ll be saved but your works can’t speak.
1 Corinthians 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
The Word In Clarity 