Fasting
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. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 6:16
https://www.hefluence.com/post/intermittent-fasting
The Lord’s Prayer
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
Matthew 6:9, 12
“ ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Prayer
5 “And when you pray, do not be like 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.
Matthew 6:5-6
6 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.
Giving to the Needy
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
Matthew 6:2-4
3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Do Not Worry
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
Matthew 6:25-27 NIV
Paul prays powerfully for us and the Ephesians:
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:14-19 NIV
Reaction: What is our prayer language like? How do we pray for one another?
Reflection: How rich is our relationship with the Father, Spirit and Son? How Wide? Long? High? Deep?
Reminder: How well developed along God’s righteous path is our spiritual maturity?
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOUdwnfET5A
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pcrg-I3Rhkw
The Benefits of Wisdom
Proverbs 2:1 NLT
1 My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands.
3 Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding.
Proverbs 2:3 NLT
4 Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.
Proverbs 2:4 NLT
5 Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD, and you will gain knowledge of God.
Proverbs 2:5 NLT
Matthew 7:6 New Living Translation
6 “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:6
and attack you.
Related:
22 “ They prove the truth of this proverb: ‘A dog returns to its vomit.’
2 Peter 2:22 New Living Translation
And another says, ‘A washed pig returns to the mud.’ ”
[1] https://www.gotquestions.org/pearls-before-swine.html
[2] https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-discernment.html
[3] https://biblestudyministry.com/lifestyles-avoid-casting-pearls-before-swine/
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxDoIRgusfE
[5] https://www.karipearls.com/pearls-in-the-bible.html
Anxiety is crushed by Christ’s care and comfort. By prayer, supplication and thanksgiving God guards our hearts and brings our minds to terms of financial and spiritual peace!
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
Follow-Up passage from Anxious About Nothing
Bible on Money