Some of the most effective prayers are the shortest prayers. Jesus said, “Peace, be still,” and the wind and the waves ceased (Mk. 4:39). He said, “Lazarus, come forth,” and Lazarus came back from the dead (Jn. 11:43-44).

Today, there is a new emphasis on the quantity of prayer instead of the quality of prayer. Jesus never advocated long prayers, and there are only a few instances where Jesus prayed long prayers. This is not to say that communion with God is not important. It certainly is, but formal prayer is only one part of our communion with the Lord.

Psalm 5:1-2 uses the words “prayer” and “meditation” interchangeably. Therefore, communing with God through keeping your mind stayed on the things of the Lord is also prayer. There are also times in prayer when we need to be still and know that God is God (Ps. 46:10).

Many times we ask the Lord to speak to us, but He can’t get a word in “edge-wise.” We’re doing all the talking.

The motive behind our gift is more important than the gift itself. Paul said if he gave all of his goods to feed the poor, or if he made the ultimate sacrifice of giving his own life for someone else, and wasn’t motivated by love, his gift would profit him nothing (1 Cor. 13:3).

Many Christians give faithfully but never see the hundredfold return that the Lord promised because of wrong motives (Mk. 10:29-30). Paul said God loves a cheerful giver – not one who gives grudgingly or out of debt (2 Cor. 9:7).

Jesus gave us the key to purifying our motives in this same teaching. He said, “But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth” (Mt. 6:3). Giving in a manner in which you will not receive recognition for your gifts will guarantee that your motives are right and grant you the true joy that comes through selfless giving (Acts 20:24).

Ask the Lord to show you an opportunity today to give a kind word or a helping hand to someone who will not be able to repay you and others will never know about it. This could be a motorist in a traffic jam, a co-worker, a spouse, a child who won’t even notice your kind deed, or any number of other people. Opportunities are all around us.

Which would you rather have – God defending you, or you defending yourself? That’s the choice that Jesus is offering us here. “Turning the other cheek” is not a prescription for abuse but rather the way to get the Lord involved in your defense.

Many people feel that these instructions of Jesus guarantee that others will take advantage of us. That would be true if there was no God. But when we follow these commands of Jesus, the Lord is on our side. He said in Rom. 12:19, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but [rather] give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance [is] mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”

When we fight back, we are drawing on our own strength. But when we turn the other cheek, we are invoking God as our defense. Once we understand this, it becomes obvious that these instructions are for our own good.

James 1:20, says that the wrath of man does not accomplish the righteousness of God. Regardless of how appropriate our anger may seem, and regardless of how we think our wrath could make a person or situation change, we will never achieve God’s best that way.

When we defend ourselves, we stop God from defending us. It has to be one way or the other. It cannot be both ways. When we turn the other cheek to our enemies, we are loosing the power of God on our behalf. Let God defend you today.

A person who has to swear or make a promise to validate his statements is a person whose word is no good. The thrust of Jesus’ teaching here is that we should live in such a manner that no one would ever have to have additional proof that we are telling the truth. Our word should be our bond.

We have all heard the story of the young shepherd boy who cried wolf when there was no wolf until finally no one believed him when the wolf really came. Our lack of integrity in performing our word has the same effect on people today.

Very few people conduct business anymore with their word and a handshake. Even contracts are not sacred if an individual can afford a good enough lawyer. But this is not the way God intended it.

God has fulfilled every word He has ever spoken. We were created in His image and He planned for us to be the same way. Even our physical bodies respond adversely when we lie. That’s why lie detectors work.

Today, commit yourself to be a new man or woman of your word. You will not only experience a new respect from others, but you will find the joy of a clear heart and mind.

God’s commandments are not intended to make us miserable–they’re meant for our own happiness. Satan’s lie in the Garden of Eden caused Eve to question God’s motives behind His command (Genesis 3:5).

Malachi 2:15 says God hates divorce. God doesn’t hate the people who divorce. He hates the act of divorce because of the damage it does to people. God loves people.

Today, people see divorce as an easy way out of marital problems. But this is based on the misconception that the mate is the problem–which is rarely the case.

People who blame their mate for their problems give in easily to divorce, thinking that a new partner will solve the situation. Yet second marriages have over twice the failure rate of first marriages. That’s because we take ourselves and all our unresolved problems into the next marriage.

You can’t control other people–not even your mate. But through obeying the Lord, you can control yourself and have fulness of joy. God’s commands tell us what will produce true happiness for us.

Is Jesus advocating dismembering of our bodies? Quite the contrary. He is drawing on the universal drive within every person of self preservation to make a point. If you value your body highly enough that you would never sacrifice one of its parts, then you should esteem your spiritual well being much higher.

Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve, man’s priorities have been misplaced. Great effort is put into preserving our physical life while our spiritual condition is often overlooked. It constantly gets put on the “back burner” while we tend to more urgent matters of this life.

Yet our physical bodies are just temporary. If we live 70 years or more, that is just a fraction of a second in the light of eternity. Our spiritual man lives forever. The state in which it exists is determined by choices made in this life.

Therefore, choose to make your spiritual condition your top priority. Spend more time on your spiritual well being than you do your physical well being. You and everyone around you will be eternally grateful that you did.

What did Jesus mean? Since the Pharisees fasted twice each week, does this mean we have to fast three times each week? Since they paid tithes on everything including spices, does this mean that anyone who fails to tithe is doomed to hell?

No! Definitely not. The Pharisees’ righteousness was based on their actions. Jesus is advocating a righteousness that is based on faith in what He did for us.

Trusting in our own actions will never grant us access to God. We may be better than others, but who wants to be the best sinner that ever went to hell? We have all sinned and come short of perfection which is what God requires (Rom. 3:23).

The only one who was ever good enough to earn right standing with God is Jesus. And His righteousness is offered as a gift to anyone who will put their faith in Him as their Savior.

Jesus offers us a righteousness by faith that is so far superior to the self righteousness that the Pharisees had that there is no comparison. This is the righteousness that we need and which is available to us only through faith in Christ.

Jesus is saying that persecution should actually cause us to rejoice. There are many positive things about persecution but one of the best reasons to rejoice is because of the reward awaiting us in heaven.

Jesus takes the persecution of His saints very seriously as can be seen during the Damascus road experience of the apostle Paul. The Lord asked Paul (then Saul), “Why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4) He didn’t say, “Why are you persecuting my people?” but “Why are you persecuting me?”

It is not actually us that people are rejecting but they are rejecting the One we represent. Therefore, Jesus promised to share His reward with us. All the glory and honor that Jesus has and will receive will be shared with those who have suffered shame for His name’s sake (Rom. 8:17). What a great reward!

Focusing on the reward instead of the persecution can actually make us rejoice when people speak against us (Acts 5:41). Paul actually longed to experience the fellowship that Jesus provided to those who suffered for His sake (Phil. 3:10). God’s reward is infinitely greater than any suffering we will ever encounter.