In my time of prayer awhile ago, the Holy Spirit began to illuminate a few of the verses in Matthew 6 for me.  He gave me a picture of what happens when we pray, and what it means to store up treasure in heaven.  The picture that I saw as I sat with the Father and meditated on His word, was a picture of a large storehouse of treasure.  I felt that God wanted me to have a large storehouse of treasure in heaven, but I joked that I would not need treasure, for what purpose would it serve?  I would have eveythig that I needed in heaven in just being in His presence. However, I again strongly felt the Father letting me know that He wanted me to have treasure, so I asked why. 

He picked up one of the rubies in this pile of gold coins and precious stones, and He said, “Michelle, this was birthed out of a time of great persecution and hardship in your life, and He reminded me of the time.  He then showed me that this was so precious to Him, and these are the rewards that He speaks of.  The eternal treasure that will be stored up in heaven composed of times when He sustained us in obedience to bring about His will.  He said these treasures are a reminder and a token of a time in our lives, and they are eternally precious, and we will recount them in heaven as we remember what the beauty and the hardship.  Then as I continued to pray, I saw gold coins continue to pile on this already large pile.  I thought that was interesting how precious each prayer is, and how each prayer is documented for eternal rememberance in the form of treasure. 

The contrast of these treasures the Father showed me was when we do these same acts in front of others or for their pleasure, reward, or acceptance.  The picture that He gave me here was a picture of a piece of candy as the reward, that is sweet for the moment, but gone in a flash.  This lead me to reflect upon my life, and look at my motives for why I do all that I do, and why I pray.  Am I praying to be seen, known, or accepted, or am I praying and co-laboring with the Father to bring His will to this Earth?  Am I living for the age to come or this age right now, that is here today and gone tomorrow?  I thought it was so interesting that towards the end of the chapter 6 in verse 19, Jesus says “Do not gather and heap up and store for youselves treasures on earth, where mosth and rust and worm consume and destroy, and where thieves break through and steal.  But gather and heap up and store for yourselves treasures in hevaen, where neither moth nor rust nor worm cosnume and destroy and where thives do not break through and steal.  (And here is the clincher) For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

So in light of all of this, I asked the Holy Spirit to examine me, and to rid me of any way that I am seeking the treasure of this Earth, and to give me a heart of understanding that seeks only the treasure of His heart and will!  Through His leading, I repented of my sin, and He began to renew my heart and mind. 

One last thought, we should not work for these rewards or treasures, as they will be a natural bi-product of our life with Christ.  If He is our focus, we will have much treasure and rich times and memories to recount for eternity.

Matthew 6:5-15 (Message)

5“And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?

 6“Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

 7-13“The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

   Our Father in heaven,
   Reveal who you are.
   Set the world right;
   Do what’s best— as above, so below.
   Keep us alive with three square meals.
   Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
   Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
   You’re in charge!
   You can do anything you want!
   You’re ablaze in beauty!
      Yes. Yes. Yes.

 14-15“In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.