Those who follow and serve Jesus Christ here, have the present possession of exceeding joy; and as they follow Him, He leads them into the Exceeding Joy of the Great Reward in Heaven! III. The Sermon on the Mount HOW TO PRAY, AND TO LOOK UP Our Blessed Lord had many things to teach those who listened to Him so eagerly. You will find numbers of beautiful and suggestive lessons in the fifth to the seventh chapters of Matthew. But I have not space to tell you a quarter of them; yet one thing seems to stand out before me as so wonderful, and so important, that I must on no account leave it out. It is called: The Lord's Prayer. Our Lord Jesus explains to us that it is "after this manner" that we should pray; and I have known people who have found great blessing and great help in using this beautiful prayer, slowly and thoughtfully, each morning. It is of no use just to say the words quickly, and think nothing about them! That is what our Lord calls "using vain repetitions, as the heathen do." But to pray each separate petition slowly and reverently will surely bring you great blessing. "Our Father, which art in Heaven." Pause to think of His love and His majesty. "Hallowed be Thy Name." Ask to be enabled to honour Him all the day. "Thy Kingdom come." Ask to be helped to press forward that Kingdom, and to be ready for the Lord Jesus to come back. "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven." Ask that we may do that Will with all our hearts! "Give us this day our daily bread." Ask Him to send us our food, and to feed us also with heavenly Food: His love, His help, His grace. "And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us." Ask for pardon for ourselves, and a loving forgiving spirit towards other people. "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Ask that Jesus may be close to us in every trial, and conquer Satan for us, when he tries to make us fall. "For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, for ever. Amen." God is our King, we are His subjects; He has all power, so that we can rely on His help; He has all glory, and will share it with us by and by, if we will yield ourselves to Him and obey Him. And this will be for ever and ever! When the Lord Jesus had finished telling the disciples about praying, He went on to explain to them some of the beautiful things which they would find around them which would help them to trust in the Heavenly Father's love. He said to them in words like these: "Do not be anxious about what you will have to eat another day—look at the birds which fly round you! Are they anxious? They do not sow any seed; they do not reap the fields, and gather the grain into storehouses—yet your Father feeds them. Are not you of more value than they are? "Do you make yourself grow? Can you make yourself taller? Is it not God Who does that for you?