But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees everything that is done in secret will reward you.
But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Your almsgiving must be done in secret. And your Father who sees everything that is done in secret will reward you.
But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that the fact that you are fasting will not be obvious to others but only to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees everything that is done in secret will reward you.
I know how to live with little, and I know how to live with plenty. In any and all circumstances, I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need.
You who abide in the shelter of the Most High, who rest in the shadow of the Almighty, say to the Lord, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I place my trust.”
Do not envy a violent man or choose to emulate any of his ways. For the perverse man is an abomination to the Lord whose friendship is bestowed only upon the upright.
The heart is more deceitful than any other thing, and it is also perverse. Who can uncover its secrets? I, the Lord, search the heart and probe the mind to reward all according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve.
If I have the gift of prophecy and the ability to understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and have all the faith necessary to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
So if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out there. If they say, ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For just as lightning comes from the east and is visible even in the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.