Prayer + Fasting
July 2, 2023 • Robert Montgomery • Matthew 6:5–18
In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus compares the external righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees to the expression of true and authentic worship that favors the heart of God. Jesus is retraining his disciples on what it means to truly pray and fast. He cautions us against the hypocrisy of praying so that we will be admired, or looking sad so others will notice that we are fasting. Instead, he advises praying in solitude and not not making our fasting obvious. He also gives us guidelines on how to structure our prayers with the Lord’s Prayer found in Mathew 6:9-14.
Resolute Faith
October 2, 2022 • Robert Montgomery • Daniel 3
When we go through trials (external circumstances that come against us) we are being given opportunities to let our faith be strengthened into something more resolute. Oswald Chambers said, “Faith by its very nature must be tested and tried. And the real trial of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God, but that God’s character must be proven as trustworthy in our own minds.” If we don’t get this down, then trials will consistently feel like times where God is abandoning us rather than walking with us in the fire.