Prayer, Fasting and Giving
The Harmony of Instruction · His own commandments: before the Father · Christ, the apostles, the parables, Proverbs and the Psalms
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The hidden life: alms, prayer and fasting done for the Father who sees in secret, and the prayer He gave.
Each section follows one order: the word of Christ; the apostles who hand it on; the parables; the wisdom of Proverbs; the Psalms; and the Law, the Prophets and the rest of Scripture. Verses of Proverbs and the Psalms are quoted in full from the Saints Translation; everything else is linked to the place where it is given in full. Psalms are numbered as in the Greek, with the Hebrew number in parentheses. The selection is an editor’s gathering: a doorway into the text, not an addition to it.
On this page: In Secret · Pray in This Way
In Secret
Alms, prayer and fasting are for the Father who sees in secret. Elisha shut the door and prayed; Daniel went to his upper room; the prophets of Baal called from morning until noon. The psalmist already knows the One who sees: You knew my sitting and my rising.
The word of Christ
64. To give alms in secret. Matthew 6:1–4
65. To pray in secret, and not to babble as the nations do. Matthew 6:5–8
And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in synagogues and at street corners, so that people may see them. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But you, when you pray, enter your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. When praying, do not babble like the Gentiles, for they think they will be heard through their many words. So do not become like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
Matthew 6:5–8
66. To fast in secret. Matthew 6:16–18
The apostles hand it on
46. Each is to give as he has decided in his heart, not grudgingly, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:6–7
Now this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows in blessings will also reap in blessings. Let each give as he has decided in his heart, not out of sorrow or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:6–7
In parable
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector. The one who humbled himself went down to his house justified rather than the other.
The wisdom of Proverbs
There are those who sow their own things and produce more,
Proverbs 11:24
and there are those who gather and become diminished.
One who gives to the poor will not be in need;
Proverbs 28:27
but one who turns away his eye will be in great difficulty.
God is far distant from the impious,
Proverbs 15:29
but He listens to the prayers of the righteous.
In the Psalms
Lord, You tested me and knew me.
Psalm 138 (139):1–3
You knew my sitting and my rising;
You understood my reasonings from afar.
You traced my path and my measuring cord,
and You foresaw all my ways.
Let my prayer be directed as incense before You,
Psalm 140 (141):2
the lifting of my hands as an evening sacrifice.
But when they troubled me, I put on sackcloth
Psalm 34 (35):13
and humbled my soul with fasting;
and my prayer will return to my bosom.
The Law, the Prophets and the rest of Scripture
In the commandments of the Law: 250. To open your hand to the poor · 77. To serve the Lord your God, which the tradition understands as daily prayer
The prophets of Baal call from morning until noon 1 Kings 18:26–29
Elisha shut the door and prayed 2 Kings 4:33
Let your words be few Ecclesiastes 5:1
Why did we fast, and You did not see? Isaiah 58:3–7
Daniel in his upper room Daniel 6:11
With fasts, sackcloth and ashes Daniel 9:3
Pray in This Way
The prayer He gave gathers the prayers of Israel: the Father of Isaiah, the great Name that Ezekiel heard would be sanctified, the bread of each day from the wilderness and from Proverbs, the guard against the evil day from the Psalms. And He commands the asking itself: seek, and you will find.
The word of Christ
67. The prayer He gave: Our Father. Matthew 6:9–13
You, then, pray like this: ‘Our Father in the heavens, let Your name be hallowed. Let Your kingdom come. Let Your will be done, as in heaven, also upon earth. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but rescue us from evil.’
Matthew 6:9–13
68. To ask, to seek, to knock. Matthew 7:7–8
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
Matthew 7:7–8
69. Always to pray and not lose heart. Luke 18:1 · Luke 18:7–8
70. To ask the Father in His name. John 16:23–24
71. To have faith in God: to believe that you have received what you ask. Mark 11:22–24
72. To petition the Lord of the harvest to send out workers. Luke 10:2
73. To keep watch and pray that you may not enter temptation. Matthew 26:41
The apostles hand it on
36. To rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in everything. 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18
Rejoice always. Pray unceasingly. Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16–18
37. If anyone lacks wisdom, to ask God, who gives generously; but to ask in faith, doubting nothing. James 1:5–8
40. This is the confidence we have toward Him: if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 John 5:14–15
41. You received a Spirit of adoption, in whom we cry, Abba, Father. Romans 8:14–16
58. To be sober and watchful: your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion. 1 Peter 5:8–9
77. Elijah was a man like us, and he prayed that it might not rain. James 5:17–18
In parable
The Friend at Midnight. Because of his persistence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.
The Widow and the Unjust Judge. Will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones who cry to Him day and night?
The wisdom of Proverbs
Put a vain and false word far from me;
Proverbs 30:8–9
give me neither wealth nor poverty;
assign me what is needed and sufficient,
so that I may not become full and false and say, ‘Who sees me?’
or become poor and steal
and swear by the name of God.
for if you call upon wisdom and give your voice to understanding, and seek perception with a loud voice,
Proverbs 2:3–6
and if you seek it like silver and search it out like treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom, and from His presence come knowledge and understanding.
I love those who love me,
Proverbs 8:17
and those who seek me will find me.
In the Psalms
The Lord is near to all who call on Him,
Psalm 144 (145):18–19
to all who call on Him in truth.
He will fulfill the will of those who fear Him;
He will hear their plea and save them.
But I cried to God,
Psalm 54 (55):17–18
and the Lord heard me.
Evening, morning and noon I will recount;
I will proclaim, and He will hear my voice.
My heart said to You, “My face sought You.”
Psalm 26 (27):8
Your face, Lord, I will seek.
Call on Me in the day of affliction;
Psalm 49 (50):15
I will rescue you, and you will glorify Me.” Diapsalma.
Set a guard, Lord, for my mouth
Psalm 140 (141):3–4
and a restraining door around my lips.
Do not turn my heart toward words of wickedness,
to offer excuses for sins with people who practice lawlessness,
and I will certainly not join with their chosen ones.
The Law, the Prophets and the rest of Scripture
In the commandments of the Law: 77. To serve the Lord your God, which the tradition understands as daily prayer
Bread from heaven, each day’s portion Exodus 16:4
Hannah’s prayer 1 Samuel 1:10–13
Solomon asks for a hearing heart 1 Kings 3:9–12
If My people pray and seek My face 2 Chronicles 7:14
You, Lord, are our Father Isaiah 63:16
We are the clay Isaiah 64:7
Before they cry out I will listen Isaiah 65:24
Seek Me and you will find Me Jeremiah 36:12–13
I will sanctify My great name Ezekiel 36:23
Lord, hear and act Daniel 9:18–19
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Saints Translation · The Harmony of Instruction · an editor’s gathering; statements and summaries in our own words; passages quoted from the Saints Translation with His words in red · working draft awaiting specialist review.