Yesterday's Daily Bread Matt 6

Matthew 6: 1 - 34
1 "Take care! Don't do your good deeds publicly, to be admired, because then you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. 2 When you give a gift to someone in need, don't shout about it as the hypocrites do – blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I assure you, they have received all the reward they will ever get. 3 But when you give to someone, don't tell your left hand what your right hand is doing. 4 Give your gifts in secret, and your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you..
5 "And now about prayer. When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get. 6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you. 7 "When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again. 8 Don't be like them, because your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!
9 Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored. 10 May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven. 11 Give us our food for today, F45 12 and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. 13 And don't let us yield to temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. F46 14 "If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.
16 "And when you fast, don't make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, who try to look pale and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I assure you, that is the only reward they will ever get. 17 But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. 18 Then no one will suspect you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in secret. And your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.
19 "Don't store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be. 22 "Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul. 23 But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness. If the light you think you have is really darkness, how deep that darkness will be! 24 "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
25 "So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn't life consist of more than food and clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don't need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are. 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not. 28 "And why worry about your clothes? Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won't he more surely care for you? You have so little faith! 31 "So don't worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. 32 Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, 33 and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. 34 "So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today.
FOOTNOTES:F45: Or for tomorrow. F46: Or from evil. Some manuscripts add For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
The New Living Translation

~Lena's Comments~
Does this (1st ) passage seem to contradict what I wrote yesterday (really 2 days ago), where I said I felt the Lord tell me to make my name known? It does seem to be a bit of a contradiction, yet it is not. It is all found inside of the motivation to "be seen". Is my motivation to be seen, because I want people to exalt me and I want to be self sufficient in power? Or do I want to be seen that he would be seen?, and that I would be accountable to become more and more like Him? One draws away from Him and centers in on me, The other draws me towards Him and centers in deeper to His will and plan
We can be brief with specific needs, because He knows, and the point of us bringing it up is merely to let Him know we are thinking what He already thinks (also in voicing aloud we let the enemy forces in earth hear that we are agreeing with God). We are also agreeing with Him and communicating with Him where He is. In corporate settings we pray aloud to know we agree with Him and give all of the rest in the group an application to also agree with Him. In private we can detail our prayers as long as we desire. We do not have to talk God into anything, like we used to do our parents or we do our spouses or bosses etc. We don’t have to explain it clear enough for God to understand. He gets it before we ever bring it up! Isn’t THAT cool? God is awesome! He actually reads our thoughts and hearts.
I love how our Pastor pointed out that this prayer is all God centered. That we know who he is enough to give Him praise. That we know who we are enough to desire to do His plan and go through certain behavioral adjustments to promote His work in earth. That we love others enough, because he loves them and we are ONE, to be available to be and do what God has planned out on earth to be done. She said it is a Corporate prayer- not about me, but about God (all 3 parts together), with me, the world!
The things we go after are evidences from the desires of our hearts. Our eyes are where it begins. They offer us things to desires or not desire. We will serve whatever it is we want with our eyes. We’ve got to put the light , understanding and revelation of His word before us and we will begin to see our desires changing. Note that God did not say you cannot have money. He just said, don’t love money so much that that’s what you go after instead of going after Me. Serving money, will leave you no time to serve God. It will require your service regularly. Yet when you are making money, while serving God, something happens in your life that’s is different, your drive changes, you energy levels, stress levels change, and God who is your "master" provides your needs.
I see these last portions describing the "Lord’s prayer" in greater detail, it is describing the benefits of living the "Lord’s prayer".
When’s the last time you thought, "Lord, I sure do want Your kingdom to come here – at my job, in my home, inside of my thinking, in my cell group, my neighborhood…?" How about, "Lord, I sure do want to be a part of making Your kingdom come here. What can I do or be today to set Your kingdom in order?" THAT should be a daily thought. That is how God thinks, minute by milli-minute. "I wonder when they will desire to join me in this work?" Says the Lord.