Bible things that make you go, Hmmm...?

One of the things that I am looking for as I read through the gospels are the things that Jesus commands us to do. Towards the end of John's gospel, Jesus says that if we love him, we'll do the things he's told us (commanded us) to do. So I figured to maybe highlight the dos and don'ts as I go along.

In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5, 6, and 7) there are several do nots and a few dos, but in between those are three things that Jesus just assumes that we are doing. Jesus doesn't command us to give to the poor. Instead he says, "When you give..."
Neither does he tell us to pray, but says, "When you pray..."
And finally, "When you fast..." 

Giving, praying, and fasting were such parts of the culture that there was no need to tell people to do those things. Jesus simply gave instructions on how to do them better or more correctly. 
While regular fasting isn't really a part of western culture today, it still exists as a physically cleansing or purification ritual for much of the world. Jesus doesn't give instructions on how to fast because nobody needed it. They already included fasting as a part of their culture and practice. 

I wonder how he would address these three things if Jesus were to speak to a US crowd today or maybe give a TEDtalk in the western world.
Would he say, "You need to be generous and give..."
                       "You need to pray..."
                       "You need to fast..."
Are these things really necessary for us today or were they just things that were culturally relevant to the people of the time and place?

Hmmm...
I wonder.

John