![Matthew 6:7-21, [25-34], Treasure in Heaven](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56b39b61ab48de92d991a40a/503bc138-d362-4438-b7ab-cf1cd0cba4fc/23.01.29.jpg)
Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, January 29, 2023
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: Prayer levels the playing field. We all have direct access to God, whether we store treasures or have none to store.
People have it all wrong. We store up treasures that other people think we ought to have. We hoard possessions we think will make us happy. Our values are completely misaligned.
These are hard words to hear. Everyone wants to believe they are an exception to the selfish, that they are more selfless than is reality. We give to the church. We live in humble houses. We drive modest cars. We eat healthy food.
You hear it, don’t you? We have enough money to give some away. We own or rent four walls, a roof, and likely all the luxuries and amenities that come with living in the developed world. We have cars (or bikes or access to public transportation). We don’t have to travel farther than the grocery store for every kind of food we can imagine. We are the hypocrites that “heap up empty phrases” and “disfigure [our] faces so as to show others” how much we suffer. (Money’s tight this month because I had to pay my cell phone and cable bills.)
But none of that diminishes the gift God has given us, which cannot be bought or owned—access to God. Most of us can’t call the White House to chat with the president at will. Most of us can’t stop by the clubhouse to hang out with our favorite athlete. I barely have access to those who own the businesses I frequent regularly. But we all have access to the one who created and redeemed us. We have a direct line to God. As do the people who do not have the treasures that we do. Prayer levels the playing field. It humbles us all, and it uplifts us all.