Matthew 6 Study Guide: Prayer, Treasure, and Trust
Matthew 6 Study Guide: Prayer, Treasure, and Trust
This Matthew 6 study guide explores Jesus’ teaching about sincere devotion, the Lord’s Prayer, heavenly treasure, anxiety, and seeking God’s kingdom first. It is designed for personal Bible study, small-group discussion, or sermon preparation. As you read, notice how Jesus moves faith away from public performance and divided loyalties toward trust in the Father.
Matthew 6 sits in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount. After describing kingdom character and righteousness in Matthew 5, Jesus addresses three practices familiar to faithful Jews—giving, prayer, and fasting—then turns to possessions, vision, loyalty, and worry. The chapter’s central question is not merely, “What religious things do you do?” It is, “Whose approval, kingdom, and care shape your life?”
Matthew 6 Study Guide Overview
A simple outline helps you see the chapter’s movement:
- Sincere devotion before the Father — giving, prayer, and fasting (Matthew 6:1–18)
- Undivided treasure and loyalty — the heart, the eye, and two masters (Matthew 6:19–24)
- Trust instead of anxiety — the Father’s care and the kingdom priority (Matthew 6:25–34)
These sections belong together. Secret devotion trains the heart to seek the Father rather than applause. Heavenly treasure frees the heart from serving money. Trust in the Father loosens anxiety’s grip and makes room for kingdom obedience.
What Does Matthew 6 Teach About Giving, Prayer, and Fasting?
Jesus begins with a warning: righteous actions can be performed for the wrong audience. Giving, praying, and fasting can become a stage for gaining attention. Jesus repeats the phrase “your Father who sees in secret.” The point is not that every act must remain literally invisible. Rather, disciples should refuse to make human praise their reward.
This exposes a subtle temptation in spiritual leadership. A person can speak true words, serve generously, or demonstrate discipline while secretly craving recognition. Jesus does not tell disciples to abandon spiritual practices; he calls them back to sincere motives.
Use these observation questions:
- What repeated words or ideas connect Matthew 6:1–18?
- What contrast does Jesus draw between hypocrites and faithful disciples?
- What different “rewards” appear in the passage?
- What does the repeated title “Father” reveal about Christian devotion?
- Which practice—giving, prayer, or fasting—most easily becomes performative for you?
For a repeatable way to slow down and notice such patterns, use the inductive Bible study method or these Bible study observation questions.
The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9–13
Jesus warns against empty repetition, but he does not reject repeated prayer. He rejects the idea that many words manipulate God. The Father already knows what his children need. Prayer begins from relationship and trust, not from a need to inform or impress him.
The Lord’s Prayer provides a pattern with six requests:
- Hallowed be your name — May God be honored as holy.
- Your kingdom come — May God’s reign advance in us and in the world.
- Your will be done — May earth increasingly reflect heaven’s obedience.
- Give us daily bread — We depend on God for ordinary needs.
- Forgive us our debts — We need mercy and must extend mercy.
- Deliver us from evil — We need protection in spiritual testing.
The order matters. Prayer starts with God’s name, kingdom, and will before turning to our bread, forgiveness, and protection. Yet Jesus welcomes everyday needs. The prayer holds worship and dependence together.
Verses 14–15 show that people who receive the Father’s mercy must extend mercy rather than cherish an unforgiving spirit.
Questions for studying the Lord’s Prayer
- Which request focuses your attention on God before your circumstances?
- Why might Jesus use plural words such as “our,” “us,” and “we”?
- How does daily bread challenge self-sufficiency?
- Is there someone you need God’s help to forgive?
- How could this prayer shape your prayers without becoming thoughtless repetition?
Treasure, the Healthy Eye, and Two Masters
Matthew 6:19–24 uses three connected images: treasure, the eye, and masters. Treasure reveals the heart’s direction. Earthly goods are temporary and vulnerable; treasure in heaven lasts because it is invested in God’s purposes. Jesus does not condemn responsible saving or ordinary possessions. He confronts possessions that possess us.
The saying about the eye can sound disconnected, but it continues the theme of desire. A healthy or generous eye sees life through trust and openhandedness. A bad or stingy eye darkens the whole person. What we fix our attention on influences what fills us.
The final statement is unmistakable: no one can serve both God and money. Money is useful as a tool but cruel as a master. Divided loyalty eventually demands a choice.
Ask yourself:
- What do my spending, saving, and giving reveal about my treasure?
- Which loss would most threaten my sense of identity or security?
- Does money function as a servant in my life, or am I serving it?
- What concrete act of generosity could retrain my heart this week?
Matthew 6 Study Guide for Anxiety and Trust
The word “therefore” in Matthew 6:25 connects anxiety to the previous discussion of masters. If God is truly our Master and Father, worry does not have to rule us. Jesus points to birds and wildflowers, not to romanticize nature, but to argue from lesser to greater: if God feeds and clothes creation, how much more does he know the needs of his children?
Jesus is not shaming people who experience anxiety or forbidding wise planning. He addresses consuming worry—the attempt to secure tomorrow through mental rehearsal. Worry cannot add an hour to life, but it can drain attention from today’s obedience.
The alternative is active trust: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” Seeking the kingdom means making God’s reign, values, and will the organizing priority of life. “All these things will be added” is not a promise of luxury or a trouble-free future. It is an invitation to trust the Father with genuine needs while pursuing faithful action today.
Verse 34 gives a practical boundary: tomorrow has its own trouble. Grace meets us in the day we actually inhabit. When your mind races ahead, return to the next faithful step.
A five-step practice for Matthew 6:25–34
- Name the worry clearly. Write the specific outcome you fear.
- Separate responsibility from control. Identify what faithful action is yours and what belongs to God.
- Recall the Father’s care. List evidence of provision, including ordinary gifts you overlook.
- Choose a kingdom-first action. Pray, reconcile, serve, give, rest, or complete the task in front of you.
- Release tomorrow again. Trust is often a repeated decision, not a one-time feeling.
For deeper reflection, adapt these Bible study application questions to your situation.
Discussion Questions for Matthew 6
Use these questions in a small group, class, or sermon-prep session:
- What does the chapter reveal about God as Father?
- Where do you see the theme of reward?
- How can believers practice devotion publicly without performing for praise?
- What does the Lord’s Prayer teach about priorities?
- How are treasure, vision, and service connected in verses 19–24?
- What is the difference between prudent planning and controlling worry?
- What does seeking the kingdom first look like in your current season?
- Which command, promise, or warning do you most need to remember this week?
If you are preparing to teach the passage, the guide on how to study the Bible for sermon preparation can help you move from close reading to a faithful message.
A Simple Matthew 6 Sermon Outline
Big idea: Because God sees, knows, and cares for his children, disciples can live for his approval, serve his kingdom, and trust him with tomorrow.
- Live before the Father, not the crowd (Matthew 6:1–18)
- Give your heart to lasting treasure (Matthew 6:19–24)
- Seek the kingdom and trust the Father (Matthew 6:25–34)
A strong conclusion can invite listeners to identify one audience they have been trying to impress, one treasure competing for their heart, or one tomorrow they need to entrust to God.
Study Matthew 6 With Connected Notes
Matthew 6 calls for more than admiration. It invites a reordered life: private faithfulness, God-centered prayer, generous treasure, undivided loyalty, and daily trust. Choose one section to revisit throughout the week, then write one observation, one truth about God, and one concrete response each day.
Votional can help you keep passage observations, prayer insights, sermon ideas, and applications connected instead of scattered across notebooks. Save your Matthew 6 questions beside the text, return to them later, and build a record of what God is teaching you. Try Votional and turn today’s study into notes you can keep using.